No Such Thing As Fate
by badomens
Summary: Terca Lumireis, a land ravaged by war. In the midst of the upheaval, a young Royal Guard, Flynn Scifo, sets out on a path to save his world. (Universe Alterations, Eventual FlynnxYuri. No spoilers in the comments please.)
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone's support, the first chapter of this is going up! It's going to be long running, but I'm hoping to post twice weekly because there's somewhere between 80-100 chapters. I'm not positive on the number just yet because I haven't finished editing. Thank you for reading, and I hope that you enjoy.

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

_Ten years ago, I made a comment in passing to one of the captains of Zaphias' Imperial Knights which began a chain of events that changed the history of this world._

* * *

The Lower Quarter didn't look much different than he remembered. Rows of cramped, dilapidated buildings, homes and shops with dirty windows, and the ever-flowing fountain in the center of it all that provided water for the whole of the citizens. The inn was still where he remembered, packed with people for dinner and drinks after a hard day's work.

Yuri Lowell didn't miss this place. There wasn't a single moment of time that he wasn't glad to not live in the slums of the city of Zaphias, the supposed jewel of the Empire.

The purple and white dog beside him barked, reminding him that he was here on a mission.

"Sorry, Repede. Guess we're off to the Royal Quarter? Old man said that's where the guy we're looking for lives." He pulled a torn bit of clothing out of his pocket and let the dog take a good sniff.

Repede put his nose to the ground, looking for the scent. Yuri's nose wasn't strong enough to pick up on it, but the scent of the thief could not have been a pleasant one. He imagined sweat and cheap, overpowering cologne, maybe a hint of salt air from sea travel. With a flick of his tail, the dog signaled that he had found the scent and glanced back to Yuri with his one good, green eye.

"Got it?"

He received a short, brisk woof as a reply. He followed his partner up the hill and through the wooden gateway that cordoned off the Lower Quarter from the Public Quarter. The brown and olive uniformed city guards eyed him suspiciously but they made no movements against him. He wasn't afraid of imperial guards. They were pompous and ill trained at best, but he wasn't in a position to start a fight like he would have liked to. He kept a leisurely pace along the main thoroughfare, in spite of Repede's constant looking back over his shoulder to urge him along. His mission may have been one of urgency but he wanted to raise as little suspicion as possible. After all, his kind was far from welcome here, and if these city guards knew that he was from Zaphias's enemy, the city-state of Dahngrest, home of the guilds and the Union, they would not hesitate to arrest him. Execution was not out of the picture either.

Many of the merchants were closing up shop for the day, but he still poked around a few of the stalls to make himself blend in a little to the dying crowds. He made a few small purchases. They weren't even things he really needed, but a few extra gels and a few poison bottles couldn't hurt.

As people were passing into the Royal Quarter, he followed quietly next to a Krityan woman. He amazingly looked less out of place there with a dog than he did beside some of the lavishly dressed and ridiculous looking nobles. She smiled at him briefly, but said nothing to him and didn't seem to mind his proximity. This was a blessing.

A long garden stretched up the hill, separating the Royal Quarter from the Public Quarter. It was prettier than the wall or gates that the nobles would have liked to have erected, but still served the purpose of putting that much distance between them and the common folk. He ducked into the garden just before the final steps leading up the long road in front of the castle. He listened to the guards talking about the citizens of the Lower Quarter in such a way that made even him angry.

Yuri stooped and picked up a couple of rocks. They were the size of his palm, flat, round and heavy. He had to get in past the knights somehow, and a little use of force was never outside of his capabilities. In fact, force was his forte. He angled the first rock up over the uselessly flowery bushes and pegged the first of the guards in the head. He crashed to the ground in a heap of armor, and as the other approached to see what had happened, he threw the second rock. The second guard fell as easily as the first, and Repede rushed up the stairs, his nose absorbing every little trace of scent from the decorated cobblestone road that he could. He also sniffed the fallen guards, and, using his front paws, mimed scratching dirt over them.

He mounted the steps behind the dog, keeping an eye out for any other guards that his display may have alerted. There were two red uniformed guards at the entrance to the palace, Royal Guards, but neither appeared to have noticed. He knelt beside Repede

"Which way?"

The dog did a circle around the guards and picked up the scent down the east end of the road. He trotted along toward the first stately manor that lined the road in front of the palace, and looked back at Yuri to signal him. He followed, slipping through the gate of the manor. With luck, it would be at least a few minutes before the knocked out guards were discovered. That would give them plenty of time to complete their mission.

The mansion appeared abandoned, but a carriage drawn by two horses stood outside. It also appeared empty. He sneaked around it, hugging close to the bushes as he walked. He moved up the front steps, and immediately went for the front door. It didn't give as he pulled.

"Locked huh?" He wasn't going to be deterred by something minor like that. He walked around to one of the side walls of the manor, where several glass windows were set into the wall. When he looked in, the inside of the mansion seemed mostly void of decoration and completely lacked any human presence. He pulled the window open easily. "Lock the door but not the windows. What an idiot." He climbed in and Repede jumped in behind him.

It was dark and quiet, but they still moved through house. Up a set of stairs and through a few rooms, they followed the scent. It was very empty here, which confirmed what the old man had told him. This was a front for whatever this person was doing on the side. And he knew exactly what that was. This person was a blastia thief. The blastia from all across Dahngrest had recently gone missing and in his investigation, it all led back to this person whom he only knew as Mordio. From his contact's information, Zaphias was experiencing a similar problem and it was probably the result of the same thief.

As he and Repede exited one of the rooms on the upper floor, they heard the click of a latch and looked over the railing to the foyer below. A cloaked man had his hand on the door ready to make his exit.

"So you must be Mordio."

The man stopped cold, turning slowly and trembling. "W-Who are you?"

"That's not really important, now is it?" Yuri jumped off the railing into the foyer with very little effort and Repede followed, growling.

"What do you want from me?"

"First off, all that stolen blastia. We'll go from there."

Mordio made a small movement and, as the air filled with smoke, Yuri felt like an idiot. He should have seen a crooked trick like that coming. He thrust the scabbard of his sword through the smoke and only hit the wood door. He pushed it open and rushed out, Repede barking behind him.

Mordio was already pulling himself into the carriage by the time they made it out the door. Just as they were about to continue their pursuit, the loud clanking of armor stopped them. Approaching was a large group of knights. He swore. They had to continue after Mordio, but now they risked being captured. A few knights he could have easily fought, but this was enough to make him reconsider the worth of running away.

Repede rushed ahead, scurrying to get at the carriage that was pulling away. Yuri came in behind, but as he reached to take hold of the wood, the knights blocked his path and allowed the carriage to drive off.

"Damn it."

"Halt! Who are you?!"

"Who? Me? I'm just passing through."

"You're under arrest. Surrender at once."

As long as Repede could stay on the trail of the blastia thief, he would be able to catch up later. For right now, surrendering was his best option.

Yuri laid down his sword. The Imperial Knights didn't spare him a single blow before slapping him in irons and dragging him to the palace prison.

* * *

It had been a week, one horrible, lonely, dark week. It was all the grieving time he was allowed as a Knight in the imperial ranks. He was lucky to be allowed even that during these times of war. Everyone he knew, everyone who had served with or under his father came to give him their condolences. That did nothing to ease the pain that came from losing his only parent.

Finath Scifo had been a great man. He had been in the knighthood since before Flynn was born, and over the years of his hard work and dedication, had risen steadily through the ranks to become a captain, one of the highest places of honor that could be held by an Imperial Knight. His hard work had built a comfortable life for himself and his son. Where they had been citizens of the Lower Quarter when Flynn was very young, a promotion had allowed them to live in the Public Quarter, in a house that had been much larger and much nicer than any Flynn could have remembered seeing before. Even as a captain, they had remained in that house, and that house was now Flynn's. He didn't like it anymore. It was full of happy memories that only proved to haunt him late at night when he tried to sleep.

Many had attended the funeral, placing lovely white flowers atop his father's casket. The casket seemed pointless, since all that had been brought back of his father were his sword and shield, and his tattered uniform. His death at the hands of Union soldiers had gratefully been on the battlefield and not the shaming death afforded to prisoners of war. He had lived and died a hero. But with his death, Flynn was alone, with only his father's blastia left on his wrist. It had been a gift for Flynn's promotion into the Royal Guard, but it felt so cold on his wrist now.

Even that knowledge did not stop the ache in his chest. As he dressed for work, the red uniform he donned felt unnatural after only a week of leave. It seemed so heavy, like a burden he was being forced to bear. Flynn had not asked to be a Royal Guard in the Imperial Knights. He had worked hard for his position, but he still felt like he had gotten where he was because of his father, and he resented him a little for that. If his father had not been a captain, he knew that, even with his apparent skill level, he would have been a standard foot soldier serving under any of the other captains. It took a great deal of work to be accepted into the Royal Guard. Commandant Alexei was incredibly particular, and with good reason, about who would be allowed to be his personal guard and among the guards of the Royal family. Right now, all Flynn wanted to do was mourn. He still had his duty to do, however.

Flynn walked briskly to the palace to report for duty. The people of the Public Quarter greeted him in their regular friendly manner, but that also did little to put his mind at ease. He still put on a brave front and walked to the palace like nothing at all was wrong, like he hadn't lost his father only a week before.

It was still a little while before his shift began so he took to strolling through the palace gardens. It was a quiet, warm summer day and it got him to thinking. He had only once before seen the world beyond the Sword Stair barrier that protected the imperial capital of Zaphias. Since his father's death, he had been thinking much more seriously about a transfer to the field. He knew that he was needed here, but he felt so useless. He wasn't helping anyone here. He stood by, day by day, as his comrades on the battlefield suffered where he might be able to help. The likelihood that Commandant Alexei would approve such a thing was very small. The Royal Guard were hand picked, and their talents were not to be wasted fighting the enemy far from here, but instead the enemy on the home front, where many innocent civilians were at stake. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel like he was not giving his all to the Empire like he should have been.

"Flynn." A voice from behind him broke his thoughts and he turned quickly and saluted the pink haired girl who had walked up.

"Lady Estellise." He bowed low and respectful.

She pulled away a little from the two guards following her and then spoke to him in a whisper. "May I speak with you in private?"

"Certainly."

The two guards moved back and allowed them to walk a little further into the garden, toward a stately fountain. This put enough distance between them and the other guards that they would not be able to overhear them and could not read lips.

The princess had been an acquaintance of his for years now, but she rarely asked to speak with him privately. Something must have been bothering her a great deal to provoke such a thing. If she felt like it was something that she needed him for, no matter what it was, it was his duty to obey as a servant of the Empire.

"I'm very worried about Ioder. I haven't seen him in two days."

"Have you spoken with his guard?" He was acquainted with the young prince also, and had served many days on his guard as well.

"They say that he is sick, but they have not called on me to heal him, and I have seen no other doctor come through the palace. His room has been guarded day and night and no one will let me in to see him."

It was no surprise that his room was constantly guarded. As a candidate for the imperial throne, he would be a target for their enemy in Dahngrest. With the throne currently empty and only Commandant Alexei in a seat of power, Zaphias, once a bedrock of peace throughout the Empire, felt vulnerable. Flynn believed, though, that the Commandant was succeeding in doing his best for the sake of their country.

"I will check in on him today myself. I'm sure they just don't want you getting sick as well. Once I learn of his condition, I will let you know."

"Thank you so much, Flynn." She took a few steps back and her guards joined her once more. She waved a goodbye with her small, gloved hand and went back to taking her daily walk around the garden.

Flynn went to the barracks and reported to his supervisor. While receiving his assignment, he asked about Ioder as well, and was given the same reply Estellise had been given. He was reported to be ill and was recovering in the privacy of his royal suite. He didn't ask further questions and still planned on stopping in to see him on his dinner hour. For the time being though, he was ordered to take up guard duty in the prison. Apparently one of the prisoners there was a spy from Dahngrest and the Commandant didn't want the regular Knights being on guard over someone with potentially deadly skills. His supervisor said that the man had attacked an imperial noble without provocation and was being held as a war criminal.

With that, he headed down into the basement and to the palace prison where the prisoner of war was being held. This was going to be a boring evening.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: You may have guessed it by now, but yes, _No Such Thing As Fate _is a rewrite of the game. Before you hit the close button on your browser, hear me out. 1. There are some things that are the same as the game, including bits of dialogue, but for the most part, things have changed and drastically. 2. It's completed, so you won't have to worry about me losing interest in it half way. 3. I worked for a full year (November 7 2012 - November 7 2013) and I worked very hard to make a game rewrite that would surpass everyone's hopes. It's not a game rewrite with an added character or something like that. Things are very different.

Thank you for giving _No Such Thing As Fate_ a chance and I hope you enjoy it.

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

He was pretty well used to prison cells. If you had been in one, you'd really been in them all. One thing that was constant between Zaphias and Dahngrest was the way the prison cells looked. The interrogation had been pretty rough, but he had been forced to bear bruises and wounds much worse than a few angry knights could inflict. It hadn't taken them much to discover why he was there. A quick survey of his items gave them all the information that they needed. Once they found he was from Dahngrest and a guild member, their treatment of him became only harsher.

"Heyya neighbor." The voice from the cell next to his bore a familiar twang and a lazy, rough dialect he recognized as being from Tolbyccia. "Yer awful quiet over there. Whaterya in fer?"

"What's it to you, Old Man?"

"Old Man? Now you've hurt this old man's feelings."

"Sorry, Old Man. I'm not much for chatting."

"How about I tell ya a tale then? I know a lot of em. I got a great one about the Pirate King Aefried's hidden treasure, or this crazy island off in the northwestern sea, or the famous spa far to the west..."

Their conversation was cut off by the prison door opening, and the feet of many knights approaching. A silver haired man dressed in red passed by his cell without a second look, and two Royal Guards followed him. They stopped at the next cell, and with a motion of his hand, ordered the guards to unlock the cell door and drag the man there out. He was a scruffy, middle aged man dressed in purple with a slumped posture and his spiky brown hair in a high ponytail. Yuri knew him, but made no inkling before the assembled Knights to indicate that. It wasn't his presence that he was surprised about, so much as the silver haired man's.

It was a rare sight to see Commandant Alexei. With the ongoing war between the Empire and the Guilds, he kept himself cloistered up in the imperial palace for safety. It wasn't far from belief to think that assassins from Dahngrest would be more than happy to take him out of the picture.

The man from the next cell over stumbled a moment, dropping something on the floor rather intentionally. He stood and with a little movement of his foot, slid the object across the floor and between the bars of the cell. It was a lock pick. He shifted a bit, acting like he was stretching, and covered the lock pick with one of his legs. Being captured had been an inevitability for both of them. Although this had not been a desirable outcome, they had planned for this.

The Commandant left, a few of the knights dragging the old man along behind him. The single guard left to watch him seemed pointless since he could barely move. He couldn't see what time of day it was from in here, but he assumed that it was getting late since the guards mentioned a shift change. After a while longer, the first guard left and another came in. He was not quite the usual Royal Guard, but Yuri couldn't say that he minded.

The blond was tall, very close in height to himself, with a lean and muscular form and eyes the color of the clear autumn sky.

"It's not often I get the pleasure of being guarded by one of the Commandant's personal guards." He managed to lean up against the rails.

The blond ignored him.

"What's it take to get a decent meal around here?"

"Meal time isn't for another two hours."

Oh, this one was going to be tough. A challenge like this would be something worthwhile even while in a prison cell. "Are those keys in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

The blond shifted an angry, steely glance over to him. "What are you talking about?"

"You know, it's pretty cold in this cell. How about you come warm me up?"

"I don't know what the hell you're going on about, but if you don't quiet down, I'll knock you out."

Yuri was flabbergasted. Many times before, he had succeeded in seducing his way out of jail or other troubling situations. It had never failed before now. No prison guard before had been able to resist his charms. This was unprecedented. Was this boy just so dense that he couldn't see when he was being propositioned?

Either way, he had to distract the stalwart knight in order to get a chance at picking the lock. Right now though, he watched over Yuri eagle-eyed and unmoving. He leaned back against the bed. Maybe it would be best to get a little sleep for right now. Maybe the next guard could be more easily swayed. He needed a little time to heal before he would be able to do too much escaping anyway. If he was lucky, they were still determining the date of his execution. The body of a guild member hanging from the walls of this pure white city certainly would be a sight to behold. Not that he was going to let it come to that. He just had to bide his time and wait until he could catch either this knight off guard or the next. As soon as he had a glimpse of freedom, he would take it.

It was late when he was woken by the slamming of the prison door and the flurry of footsteps that came running down the stairs. A commotion just beyond the door worried him a great deal for whatever could be hampering his escape. The blond guard seemed to be startled by it as well.

Yuri rolled up off the straw cot groggily and took a couple of steps to the cell door.

"Flynn!"

Through the arched doorway came a young woman wearing an opulent dress with short pink hair. She was nearly shaking as she ran up to the guard, grabbing his arm.

"Lady Estellise, what's wrong?"

"It's Ioder and Alexei and the capital..." She was panting, probably from having run down the numerous flights of stairs that surely littered the castle uselessly. "Alexei has Ioder and I... I don't know what he's doing, but the whole castle is filling up with aer! He said something about the 'Child of the Full Moon' and sent the Royal Guard to apprehend me! He's mad! If the flow of aer keeps increasing it could start to leak out into the city and endanger the citizens."

Whatever was going on, it didn't sound good. It sounded a lot like Yuri needed to make his escape soon. It appeared as though the guard was also filled with this sense of urgency.

"I will see you safely out of the palace, and then I'll come back for Master Ioder. I don't know what Commandant Alexei is thinking, but if he's endangering the citizens of Zaphias, then he must be stopped." He took the young woman by the hand and headed toward the stairs.

Finally, he could make good his escape.

"Wait, Flynn. What about him?"

Yuri was surprised as she nodded back toward his cell, and the blond was too.

"He's a spy from Dahngrest."

"We can't just leave him here. If the aer gets too dense, he could die."

_Shit._

A look of reluctance passed over the guard's face, but he must have known that the young woman was only telling the truth. As he approached the cell, Yuri had a passing thought that maybe this guy wasn't too bad, just a little dense. But as soon as he saw the man brandishing a pair of shackles, he knew that he wasn't going to get out of this easily. "You're right, Lady Estellise. He may be a criminal, but we can't just leave him here to die."

Yuri supposed he could always escape later when the timing was better. It wouldn't be too hard to get away from one Royal Guard, or knock him out when the opportunity presented itself. He let the blond shackle him and nearly drag him out of the cell.

"Don't get any ideas about escaping."

"I'm more concerned with getting out of here alive." It was the truth.

He looked at him shiftily. It was no secret that he believed that Yuri couldn't be trusted. At least this guy had a sense of morals and was deciding to not let him rot away in a prison cell while the whole capital crumbled around him. He had seen before what could happen when the aer in an area was too dense, and he was no fan of having that happen to himself. He also knew that if the pink haired noble girl had not said anything, he may have indeed been left behind.

The blond motioned for him to go first on the way up the stairs and they followed. He didn't argue. It didn't surprise him that the knight was so cautious of him, especially since he had seen some of the propaganda that the Empire was passing out to its citizens. It wasn't completely inaccurate in Yuri's case. He was surprised, however, when the young lady pulled his equipment out of a nearby chest and shouldered it. His sword was thankfully among the collected items. Once he got that, he could break away. That hope died a little when the knight briefly tried to fuss at her, but instead just took the sword and tied it beside his own on his thick belt. Damn it.

They moved up through the basement to the main area of the castle where Yuri had never been, but it looked pretty much like what he expected. Empty feeling halls filled with uselessly ornate decorations that served no purpose whatsoever other than to showcase how wealthy the imperial family was. The opulence and the waste that must have been caused in such a place made his stomach turn. Even the wealthiest of citizens in Dahngrest didn't live like this, and all of them had earned their fortunes, rather than having it handed to them by family. How anyone could live like this was beyond him, especially with the way he knew that the people from the Lower Quarter lived.

One superfluous hallway led to another. The young lady hadn't been exaggerating. The aer was pooling like a gentle looking green mist. He knew the truth about it. He received a wary glance from the blond every few seconds, who was using his now drawn sword as a pointing device. Finally, a large doorway stood before them. Yuri assumed that it was the entrance.

"Where do you think you're going?"

* * *

Even on the battlefield, he couldn't remember ever feeling so panicked. The words that Estellise told him about Commandant Alexei having gone mad hadn't quite sunken in, even as they were forced to move carefully through the clouds of aer that were quickly filling the palace. If it became too much more dense, then it would become over saturated and turn red. He knew from experience that if that happened, it would prove lethal.

As that voice came echoing down the hall behind them, he stopped in his tracks. He didn't recognize the voice, but he didn't like the sound of it at all.

"Prepare to die, Flynn Scifo!"

Flynn turned quickly to see a man in black charging him, knives spinning in his hands, ready to strike. He blocked with his sword, and pushed the man back a few steps.

He came at him once more.

"Who are you?!"

"I'm Zagi, the man who will kill you!"

He didn't have time for this. The thickness of the aer was making it difficult to breathe. He had to get Estellise to safety and then discover what was really going on in the palace. What could Alexei be up to and who was this crazy person?

Flynn blocked with his shield and aimed for the man's upper body, well above his center of gravity. Zagi dodged smoothly and easily, spinning a moment before coming back in slashing wildly. He stayed behind his shield, waiting for an opening and after a few seconds of crazed movement, he paused to catch his breath. Flynn pulled back and then charged forward as hard as he could, knocking the man several yards down the hall.

"Flynn, I'll help!"

"No, Lady Estellise! Stay back."

"Give me my sword. I'll give you a hand." The dark haired prisoner took a few steps toward him, but Flynn maintained his fighting stance, putting a little distance between them. He didn't want to risk the man grabbing his sword and attempting to make an escape while he was distracted in battle.

"Damn it!"

"At least let me heal you!"

Zagi shook off the bits of a vase that he had smashed into, and came back for more. He jumped up and using all his weight, spiked himself down toward Flynn, his bladed feet aimed for a head strike. Flynn ducked behind his shield, hunkering down against the floor. The crazed man struck his shield with more force than Flynn had expected from someone who moved with such agility. It sent him tumbling down, flat on his back on the marble. He hit his head on the floor, momentarily knocking the wind out of him and he had no time to recover as Zagi began a frenzied attack against his face and chest.

"This is so much fun, Flynn! Don't die yet!"

The dark haired man swore, rushing forward, and Estellise behind him. He tried to push Zagi off. At this rate, the princess could get hurt or worse. With all his might, he pushed his shield upward, thrusting Zagi up and allowing him a split second to break free. At his right side, Estellise knelt briefly and in a flash of green, the pain from his injuries dissipated.

On his left, the man from Dahngrest grabbed the handle of his own sword that Flynn was carrying, and drew it while handcuffed. He was fast, but Flynn didn't have time to admire that since his prisoner was charging forward to face Zagi, who had once more recovered.

"Thank you, Lady Estellise." Flynn got to his feet as fast as he could to get back into the fray. His prisoner may have carried a sword, but Flynn had no idea what he was capable of, and once this enemy was defeated, would the known spy turn the blade on him? He couldn't risk that.

He had to admit that the man was pretty handy with a sword, even while shackled, as he fended off several blows. If he could handle himself this well while handicapped, he would be a formidable foe without such a hindrance. That made him a danger. Disarming him now though, was not an option. Instead, he concentrated all his energy and waited for the moment to strike.

Screaming and cackling, Zagi came at them. Yuri moved in to attack again, but Flynn surpassed him in a dash. His blade scraped against the marble, throwing up blue sparks and he stopped, letting the glow created continue across the ground and hit Zagi. The force tossed him up in the air. He fell against the marble hard, and when he didn't move after a moment, Flynn presumed him unconscious.

"Flynn! Are you alright?" Estellise was at his side in an instant, patting his arms and chest to make sure that she had healed him properly.

"I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, Lady Estellise."

"Yeah yeah. That's great and all, but we should be getting out of here."

Flynn snatched the sword from the dark haired man's hand when he was the least bit off guard and sheathed it once more. He wasn't at all pleased with that, but when he went to complain, another voice came from behind him.

"So, Zagi was useless." This was a voice he recognized, and that chilled him to the bones. "I see."

"Alexei!"

At the end of the hall, Zagi was gone, and now the Commandant stood there, looking annoyed. Behind him, in a swirling bubble of red energy, was Prince Ioder. He appeared to be in a sleeping state, his eyes closed tightly and his face wracked with pain.

"Master Ioder!" Flynn's fingers tightened around his sword. Why was he having to hold it against someone he respected so much? "Commandant, what are you doing?"

"It's none of your concern. Return Princess Estellise to me at once."

"Stop this madness!"

"You have no idea, boy. Just give me the girl and I'll let you live."

"What the hell are you doing to that kid? Whatever you're up to, it can't be good!" the spy called from behind Flynn.

When it was clear that Flynn was not going to surrender, Alexei's face twisted in annoyance. He raised his arm up, palm flat. Red energy sparked in his hand and all around the bubble that was encasing Ioder.

"What of your ideals, Commandant?! Those who seek justice will lead lives of prosperity?!"

"Foolish notions." The energy in his hand shot out a bright beam of light toward them, but Flynn's shield barely held it back.

From behind Alexei stepped a Kritya woman that Flynn recognized as Lady Khroma, Alexei's confidant. With a simple flick of her wrist and the barest utterance of "Gale Storm", a fierce wind whipped through the hall, throwing open the doors behind them. It pushed them back with the intensity of a hurricane.

With a scream, Estellise flew out the open doors.

"Lady Estellise!"

Against that wind, the dark haired man had no hope while in shackles, and even as he fought to hold his ground, it swept him away also. And Flynn was left with a choice. Protect Estellise from whatever Alexei was planning and temporarily abandon Ioder, or try against all odds to save Ioder and risk losing them both. A strategic retreat was the best option, but he didn't have the time to choose as the winds got stronger and pushed him straight out of the palace. He tumbled down the front steps and hit the gate with the full force of his body. Before he could scramble to his feet, the castle door slammed shut and a glowing red field covered it.

"Flynn, are you alright?" Estellise rushed to his side to help him up.

He shook off the disorientation rattling his brain and ambled up. He ignored her question, his mind full of too many other things to be concerned with his own health. He bounded right up to the door. He tried to open it, but the red glow shocked him as soon as he touched the gilded handle. He tried again, but it was sealed tightly by some sort of magic.

"I don't know about you, but we should really get out of here."

Flynn whipped around to look at the spy who was attempting to untangle himself from a bush with mixed success. He stopped, looking beyond the gate and into the darkened city. After a few seconds, Flynn also heard the noise that must have alerted him. The thunder of boots across paving stone, the grind of plates of metal armor, swords at the ready. A brigade of knights, wearing uniforms of pink, was approaching quickly.

At the head of them, stood a man in a similar uniform, but with a flowing cape, milk white skin, and long periwinkle hair. He was smiling in a manner that made Flynn very uncomfortable.

"It appears as though Lieutenant Scifo has teamed up with the Union spy to kidnap Lady Estellise."

"Captain Cumore, please listen-"

"He's not exactly the listening type. He's already come to his conclusion." The spy wrenched himself forcefully from the bush, breaking off all manner of leaves, flowers, and branches in his long, black hair.

"Kill them both and take the Princess into custody."

He wanted to try and explain to Cumore and get his assistance against Alexei, but he knew that it was unlikely. Cumore hated him, and all those in the ranks of the Imperial Knights who weren't of noble birth. A retreat was indeed in order now. With the brigade blocking the front gate, how were they going to get out? The dark haired man was already ahead of him on that account, too.

"Come on!"

Flynn didn't think twice. He grabbed Estellise's hand and they followed the man around through the gardens. They found a statue that depicted the goddess, knelt in prayer. The prisoner shoved his weight against it, pressing his shoulder against the stone. It gave way a little, and then finally revealed a ladder leading down into darkness hidden underneath.

"Get moving!" He shouted, urging them down in the dark hole. They found a walkway below, and he jumped down to meet them. He pulled the statue back over the secret entrance, and turned to sigh with relief. He stopped before Flynn's drawn sword.

"Who are you?"

"Can this wait until after we've gotten out of here? If the castle is filling up with aer, then these tunnels will be soon, too." He didn't appear the least bit threatened.

He reluctantly lowered his sword, but it remained in his hand. There were bigger problems right now. "Lead the way."

The prisoner turned and started down the tunnels, Flynn and Estellise in tow. Flynn motioned to the princess to stay close behind him in case the man should try to draw his sword that still hung at Flynn's side and try to attack them.

The catacombs under the palace had long been a legend, but he found that their halls were very real and numbered even more than the halls of the palace above. They had probably once been used as an escape route for the royal family in case of danger. These paths were too well made, and were still lit with blastia lights, to be anything else. But how had a young man from Dahngrest known about them, and how to access them? He didn't bother to keep that question to himself.

"An old knight told me about them once over a few drinks."

Flynn merely shook his head in disgust before continuing the questioning. "Why were you in Zaphias?"

"Guy can't take a vacation once in a while?"

He glared at the back of the man's head for a moment. "I was told you were a spy."

"Jeez. The things they make up these days."

"If you're not a spy, then what are you doing here?"

"I'm chasing a blastia thief."

Flynn was skeptical. Even if he was telling the truth, he was still a criminal who had broken into a nobleman's house and attempted to assault said nobleman. This made the possibility of him being potentially dangerous high. These were things a normal person wouldn't do.

The silence stretched uncomfortably between them, but thankfully, he could finally smell fresh air over the musty scent of the empty tunnels.

"Here we are." The spy lifted one leg and kicked out the metal grate that stood between them and the world beyond the barrier. He stepped out first, and scanned the surroundings. "The coast is clear."

Cautiously, Flynn stepped out, and then Estellise after him. The passage had taken them to the furthest wall of the city.

"What are we going to do now, Flynn?"

"We should go to Deidon Hold. Some of the Schwann Brigade is stationed there. We can get backup and go back for Master Ioder."

"That's a bad idea."

Flynn turned angrily to the spy, an argument ready on his lips.

"Think about it. There was an assassin after you. That weasel Cumore seems to be siding with Alexei, who has finally shown his true colors. The Knights at Deidon Hold wouldn't think twice about arresting you, no matter what you tell them is happening. Are they really going to believe one Royal Guard who is telling them that the Commandant is up to no good?"

He didn't want to admit that this person was right. An angry heat rose in his chest. "I have to do whatever it takes to save Master Ioder."

"And that'll take you right to the executioner's block. You have a princess with you. A lot of things here could easily be construed as treason. But do whatever you want to. Although, if you really wanna save that kid, there's got to be a better way to do it."

"Maybe he's right."

"Lady Estellise..."

"I don't know what Alexei is doing. We should find an expert on aer and see if we can determine what is going on. Once we have proper evidence, we can plan our return. I only hope that Ioder will be alright until then."

"If that is what you think, then we will head to Aspio. There are many scholars there. Surely one of them will be able to help us. But how will we get there without passing through Deidon Hold?"

"I know a way." The dark haired man took a few steps away from them. "There's some monsters, but if you don't mind fighting, I can show it to you."

"What's the catch?" It wasn't like a guildsman to offer their services freely, even if the tides were not currently in their favor.

"Let me go and I'll show you the way."

"No."

"Good luck finding it on your own then."

"Maybe a compromise would be ideal in this situation." Estellise spoke up, speaking calmly and authoritatively. "Whatever Alexei is doing, it can't be good for the Empire or for the Guilds. Right now, it's in our best interest to work together."

The man looked at her a little surprised.

"I can't promise you freedom, since by our laws, you are still a criminal, but perhaps we can work out another mutually beneficial arrangement."

"What could you possibly offer me otherwise?" He snorted in brief amusement. Someone of his type didn't care much for laws or compromise.

"I don't know. Please give me some time. I give you my word."

"Fine. Follow me."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes: I think that this chapter is a good early example of how things are simultaneous similar and different.

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

The princess was hardier than he'd expected. She had a sword and a small shield of her own, and while it was obvious that killing monsters gave her no joy, she did it without complaint. What annoyed him was that the knight wouldn't return his own sword or unshackle him, so he was left on the sidelines or was forced to fight with his fists and feet in the battles that followed their flight from Zaphias. It wasn't like he was unaccustomed to that.

He led the princess and the knight, Estellise and Flynn, across the plains and into the forest to the northwest of Zaphias. They followed a long-unused hunting path through the darkening forest.

"What's this?" The young woman paused to look at something lying beside the path. She leaned over the fallen metal obelisk, her fingers gently running over its worn surface.

"It appears to be a blastia of some sort."

Yuri turned to urge them onward. There wasn't a lot of time to dawdle since they didn't know how far behind them the Knights could be trailing. As he did, the blastia began to glow beneath her fingers. She pulled back in surprise and as it dimmed, her eyelids fluttered and she slumped into a faint. The knight caught her, gently but worriedly calling her name as he laid her out on a patch of soft grass.

"She okay?"

"I'm sure she's just exhausted." That didn't sound like a complete lie, but he knew that they were both hiding something. "We'll make camp here."

He propped her up a little with Yuri's pack and started up a small campfire. He watched Yuri cautiously as he rummaged along the tree line for food, but there wasn't much available this season that was edible, so they would be forced to rely on the rations in his bag.

"It's not much, but I've got some food in my pack. I'm sure she'll be hungry when she wakes up." He rattled the shackles a little, pushing them off his cut up wrists. They didn't have enough give for him to slip out of them. The lock pick was still in his pocket, but it was difficult to maneuver to without getting the knight's attention. He was an alert one.

"Make yourself useful."

Yuri flopped defiantly down in the grass. "Unshackle me and I will."

Silence was his answer as he got the fire blazing.

"Flynn...?" The pink haired girl woke, sitting up slowly. She rubbed her eyes and looked groggily around the clearing that they had settled in.

"Lady Estellise, are you all right?" The knight was at her side in an instant. It was almost sickening how faery tale perfect they seemed to be.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you. I don't know what came over me."

"You must be exhausted. We've made camp, so please rest. I'll prepare dinner."

She sat up, dusting off her skirt a little. After only a few hours of travel, it was already rough and tattered. The finery of a noble wasn't made for the real world. "Now that we have a chance to rest, we should introduce ourselves. My name is Estellise." She extended her hand, open palm out to him.

"Yuri Lowell." He looked at her outstretched hand incredulously.

"It's a handshake. It means 'I'm pleased to meet you'."

He laughed, but it was a little cold. "Never thought an Imperial Princess would be 'pleased' to meet me."

"If we're going to be traveling together, we should at least be civil." Her smile was gentle and genuine. "Flynn."

The knight looked at him, not at all pleased. "Flynn Scifo, lieutenant in the Royal Guard." He went back to preparing dinner, the smell of which already had Yuri's stomach in knots. This did not bode well.

"So, Estelle-" He started to ask her a question, but he noticed that she was instead distracted.

"Estelle... Estelle..." She tested that name on her tongue. "I like that."

Suddenly his question was lost and he was left a little baffled. Most people didn't take to the nicknames he gave them so quickly. He was broken out of his surprise when Flynn presented him with a bowl, filled with stew of some sort, and Yuri just looked up at him. "How am I supposed to eat like this?" He shook the shackles that clanked against his bracelet.

"You'll figure it out."

"And there is no way I'm eating that."

"Fine. Go hungry."

Yuri glanced over at the princess who sat by the fire, a slight tinge of green to her face after eating only a spoonful of the slop. "Looks like I'm not the only one who doesn't have the stomach for your cooking."

"You haven't even tried it."

"And I won't."

Flynn looked to Estelle also. "Is everything all right, Lady Estellise?"

She hid her grimace with a pleasant, but fake smile. "Oh, yes. I'm just not terribly hungry."

"Why don't you let me cook? I actually know how to."

The blond eyed him suspiciously.

"I've got a really great recipe for Dahngrest style curry." Sex hadn't tempted this knight, maybe food would.

"Oh! I've heard wonderful things about the style of curry served by chefs in Dahngrest, but I've never tried it before." It certainly tempted a certain princess. "It couldn't hurt. Right, Flynn? Traveling will be easier if he's not shackled, too."

The knight was still understandably worried, but he looked resigned. "All right. Only because Lady Estellise has taken mercy on you. But if you try anything..."

"I got it." Yuri smirked his widest, only making Flynn more cautious as he unlocked the shackles. He rubbed his scarred wrists for a moment before getting to work. From his pack, he pulled his pot and spice set and the ingredients. Flynn watched him, questioning each bit of vegetable and every spice. When he was finished, he served it, and took the first bite in full view of Flynn, who was waiting and watching anxiously. When he didn't die from poison after a few moments, he deemed it safe to eat.

It didn't take long for dinner to be consumed. The princess had a larger appetite than he had expected.

"Yuri, that was wonderful! Where did you learn how to cook like that?"

"The Wonder Chef in Dahngrest. I trained under him so I could cook for Gramps."

"So your grandfather lives in Dahngrest?"

"You could say that." He stood and stretched, glad to be free of his bonds. "So, what do you intend to do with me now that Zaphias is becoming a shit storm of aer?"

"You work for Altosk, right?" Flynn produced Yuri's Comrade Crest, which bore his guild symbol. "Surely, you know Don Whitehorse. Once we know what is going on, I plan to ask for his aid in reclaiming the capital."

It was a quick jump from collecting evidence to asking the enemy for assistance.

"What reason does he have to help you?"

"Right now, Commandant Alexei is a danger to both the Empire and the Guilds."

"Knowing the Old Man, he'll probably just let the Empire destroy itself, but do whatever you want." Yuri took the pot of slop and moved to the outer perimeter of the camp.

"What are you doing?" Flynn reached for his sword.

"Relax. This will help keep the monsters away." He poured it out in a long, thin stream encircling the camp. He walked backwards, careful not to step in it. "Think of it as a barrier of sorts."

"Doesn't food attract monsters, though?" Estelle asked innocently.

"Normally, but even starving ones wouldn't come near this stuff."

The blond scowled.

"So, you're going to ransom me for aid?' Yuri smirked. "Hate to break it to you, but a little guild member like me doesn't mean anything to the Don."

"I was not planning on ransoming you! That is a vile, devious tactic!"

"Then what's with the shackles?"

"You are still a criminal, whether or not we're at war. You will be brought to justice. You will be staying in my custody until such a time as I can bring the weight of the law on you." This goody-goody knight was grating on his nerves.

"Guy tries to handle a blastia thief on his own and the Knights get all up in arms."

"You attacked a citizen of the Empire, thief or not. I don't know what sort of law you're used to in Dahngrest, but you are not above the law here."

"The world's not really that black and white, you know."

"Please stop fighting, both of you. The Empire or the Guild, peace or war, we're going to have to work together to get to Aspio and then Dahngrest safely." Estelle was quickly becoming the voice of reason between the two of them and they hadn't even been traveling together for a single day. He was getting the feeling that this was going to be a very, very long trip.

The knight grew silent, seemingly a little ashamed of himself even though their argument had no clear victor.

A long howl shattered the quiet of the forest around them. Flynn reached for his blade once more, but Yuri cupped his hands around his mouth and returned the noise.

"What are you doing?!"

"Letting my partner know where I am."

"Your partner?" Estelle asked.

"Give him a minute."

Out of the tree line, on a monster trail, came Repede, slinking out of the brush. He paused briefly to look at them and then trotted up. He stopped abruptly at the 'barrier' Yuri had formed with Flynn's cooking and looked at him with a whine.

"It's okay, Repede."

He whined again and backed up a few steps. He flicked his tail in annoyance and jumped over the barrier. Snorting to get the scent out of his nose, Repede moved directly to Yuri. He sat down, eying Flynn and Estelle.

"This is my partner, Repede."

The dog woofed.

"I'm Estelle." She extended her hand to him, too. He sniffed it briefly before getting up and walking over to Flynn. She pouted a little.

"Sorry. He doesn't really like most people..."

Repede sniffed a perturbed Flynn's face. After a moment, he licked him and began wagging his tail. Flynn just looked at him in disbelief.

"I stand somewhat corrected." Then Yuri muttered to himself. "Don't know why he'd like you of all people."

The warrior dog came back and sniffed at the empty bowl Yuri had eaten from.

"Of course I made enough for you, too."

Yuri filled the bowl with the last bit of the curry, which the dog scarfed down quickly. After licking the bowl clean, he let out a sort of contented sigh and lay down behind Yuri, curling around him. He scratched the dog behind the ear and his tail wagged momentarily.

"Did you get a track on that Mordio guy's scent?"

The dog woofed softly and then growled.

"I see. Maybe we can pick it up in Halure."

"Wait... Yuri... Can you actually understand what Repede is saying?"

"Of course I can. We're partners."

Estelle looked at him in disbelief as people often did when he said that he could speak with the dog and understand the responses. He was used to it now. No one else shared the same connection that he had with Repede. Sometimes that was a blessing, because he could talk to the dog when he couldn't talk to anyone else. Sometimes it was a curse, evident by the numerous glances that he got from people who assumed he was crazy.

"So, who is this Mordio and why are you after him?" Flynn asked. "I know I've heard that name somewhere before. I just can't place it."

"He's a thief who stole some blastia in Dahngrest." He didn't want to go much further than that into the actual problem. They didn't need specifics. He was just as suspicious of Flynn as the other way around. He had to be careful with the amount of information that he let out. They needn't know about his true intentions for this thief.

"You still cannot take the law into your own hands."

Yuri shrugged off the blond's seemingly default response. "We'll reach Halure tomorrow. We should rest while we can."

"I'll take the first watch." Flynn pulled the lone blanket out of Yuri's pack and handed it to Estelle, who was nodding off sitting up by the fire. She was understandably still worn out from the traveling that her noble form could not have been used to, and as she laid down with her head on the pack, he draped the blanket over her.

"Me too."

"We only need one person on watch."

"You don't trust me. I don't trust you."

Flynn seemed offended by that, as if he believed himself beyond suspicion just because of his fancy red uniform. He should have known that a guildsman's trust was not given easily, especially to a dog of the Empire. The same was true from the other side.

* * *

The sunrise saw Flynn with very little sleep. At some point, Yuri had drifted off and he had allowed himself to drop his guard just a little. The dog Yuri called his partner seemed to remain alert for the remainder of the night. Even though the night had given them a glimmer of peace and calm, his nerves were frazzled as he rose, and what little sleep he had gotten had been riddled with nightmares of the Commandant and what fate could have been befalling Ioder and the capital.

He woke to Yuri complaining about waking up to Repede licking him. The bits and pieces he could get out of the conversation between Yuri and Estellise were about cooking. Flynn sat up, his limbs and eyes heavy with sleep. Yuri disappeared into the tree line for a few moments and returned with a pot of water.

Estellise presented him with a plate of somewhat burnt eggs and toast and a weak cup of coffee, but his stomach was grateful for the meal. The curry they had eaten the night before had been good, as much as he resented admitting it to himself. The spy must have helped her cook this breakfast.

"Lady Estellise, you don't need to demean yourself by doing such tasks."

"She decided for herself that she wanted to learn, so I taught her a bit."

"It's a few days until we get to Aspio, and it's not fair for Yuri to be the only one cooking. So, I thought if I learned a little, it would be helpful."

He wanted to complain, but busied his mouth instead by filling it. He would have plenty of time to argue with his prisoner over bigger issues later in the trip. He could feel it coming. Yuri seemed like the kind of person to disagree with him on everything.

"We'll be in Halure this afternoon. Hopefully, the Knights haven't come that far looking for you yet. We do have a small problem though."

"What?"

"Both of you stick out in a crowd. Your clothing makes you both dead giveaways as to who you are." He was right. The red Royal Guard uniform that he wore was easily distinguishable, maybe even more than Estellise's dress. They wanted to maintain a low profile so as not to be noticed. The problem was that neither had thought to bring any traveling gear, much less a sensible change of clothing. As it was, they were relying on the captured spy for food, which was already ill advised.

"What do you propose?"

"I've got a cloak that you can wear as temporary measure, Estelle, but as for Flynn..."

Flynn hesitated for just a moment before taking off the uniform and revealing a simple, white shirt underneath. The symbol that was the pride of the Empire could easily betray them and while he didn't care about Yuri, he couldn't endanger Estellise. He folded it neatly and put it toward the bottom of Yuri's pack. Although it felt unnatural still for him to wear, he felt naked without it on and right now, he had no choice.

"Well, that'll fix that for now."

Once in Halure, they could procure some inexpensive traveling clothes and some basic supplies, so that if Yuri managed to escape, they wouldn't be completely stranded.

Flynn hardly noticed as they cleaned up the campsite and began the trek through the forest once more.

What would his father think? Here he was, collaborating, even if unwillingly, with the enemy and taking his aid. He had turned his blade against his superior officer and had ignored orders. There were mitigating circumstances, but that did little to ease his conscience. His father had been buried only a week earlier and the Empire had apparently gone to hell. Worse yet, he was planning to go directly to the enemy's territory and ask for help. He couldn't let his pride get in the way of the safety of the Empire's citizens. If he needed the help of the enemy, then he would do his best to acquire it.

Finally, the forest gave way once more to long, rolling, hilly plains, and in the distance they could see a huge tree with a mass of pink at the top. At its roots, there was the barest silhouette of a village, and above, the telltale white, sparkling rings of a barrier. There didn't seem to be any evidence of knights this far yet, an encampment or otherwise. Flynn was grateful for that much. He wanted to get to Aspio without incident. Repede's ears perked up and he turned toward the city, alert.

From the west, a great cloud of dust rolled across the plain. As it grew near to Halure, they realized what it was.

"We need to get there as fast as possible. Something's wrong."

Their pace quickened across the grass, until they could finally see it. A horde of monsters like Flynn had never seen before. At the head was a Rhinosuss of enormous size, charging toward the great tree.

"What is that thing?"

"He's called the Lord of the Plains." Yuri turned to Flynn, his hand out. "I need my sword."

He paused. Putting a weapon in the hands of a dangerous man was a serious thing to consider, but if they did not act quickly, the village could be in danger. Before he could think or act too much further, Yuri snatched the sword off his belt.

"I don't have time to wait for someone who hesitates so much." A quick dash had Yuri and Repede ahead of them, his sword drawn and ready to battle the swarm all on his own if need be.

"Let's go, Flynn. We need to help them."

"You're right."

They moved in behind Yuri, Flynn at the front, cutting his way through the monsters and Estellise behind supporting him with her artes. The dark haired man was still ahead of them by far, fighting with strength that his slender form did not betray. He moved with such grace and ease that Flynn was somewhat impressed. His style was reckless, but destructive, and his guard never seemed to lower. He left even multiple enemies no openings as he used sword arte after sword arte, and he never seemed to tire. He didn't fight like some common thug, although his swiftly delivered kicks and punches showed some use of the street fighting skill. He had been trained and to any enemy at the end of his blade, he was a lethal force.

Through the clamoring of a hundred monster feet, trampling the ground with an earth shaking force, he could hear a tiny cry for help. He downed a Treant quickly and headed in the direction of the call. Several wolves were pressing inward on the small child, seemingly unharmed even through the stampede. As he lunged forward, a lumbering Rhinosuss charged at him, blocking his way. But Yuri had also heard the cry and fearlessly leapt in, grabbing the little girl by the back of her dress. He cradled her in his right arm, close to his body as he downed two of the wolves with a single strike. The others moved against him angrily. Repede intercepted for him, his knife whirling and teeth bared, snarling, as he allowed his partner to escape to take the child to safety. He leaned his head low, and spoke to her and she nodded and clung to him for dear life.

Flynn slew the Rhinosuss after a moment of struggle and moved on to help Repede. The thunder of hooves increased tenfold and the biggest monster of the pack, the one that Yuri had called the Lord of the Plains, was charging at them. He cast his mighty head to one side, throwing Repede and himself in the air. He reared, his dark tusks shining in the sunlight as he tried to knock them again or gore them. Flynn hit the back of the Lord's neck and as soon as his did, he scrambled forward toward the creature's head through the mass of dirty, wiry fur. Yuri was already there. He no longer had the child in his arms, but now had his sword in one hand, holding onto a clump of the beast's fur with the other. Repede hit the ground on all four feet and dashed away from the creature, the little girl clinging to his back. Their movements as a team were lightning fast.

The Lord reared again, trying in vain to buck Yuri off, and Flynn landed on the back of its neck. Yuri waited for a few seconds for an opening. The Lord of the Plains' heavy feet hit the ground and he took his chance to strike. He raised his sword high, and then plunged it into the creature's eye.

The great beast cried out in a high-pitched shriek of pain and terror, and he shook violently, throwing them to the ground. Rather then fight further, the half blinded monster and the remainder of his horde retreated back toward the western plains.

As soon as it was safe, Estellise rushed over to them, casting her healing artes over them in a flash of green. Yuri stood first, doubled over and laughing of all things.

"Guess we showed him!"

He wanted to complain, to yell at the man for his sheer recklessness, how he could have gotten them all killed, but he was still breathless and wordless. Flynn decided to leave it alone for now and just be glad that fight was over and the city was seemingly safe. He would have more of an argument in him later on after a bit of rest.

They continued on into the city of Halure. This early in the year, the tree was already blooming, the pink petals wafted through the city on the spring breeze. Above them, the barrier that had seemed so definite from a distance, was now looked to be faltering. Its white rings wavered and dimmed.

Beside them, staring up, Yuri cursed.

"What's wrong with the barrier here?" Flynn asked.

"Every year when the tree is in bloom, the barrier weakens. This is because the blastia that powers the barrier is fused to the tree." Estellise piped up. When Yuri looked at her curiously, she smiled meekly. "I read that in a book."

"Well, you're right. So during the time when the barrier weakens, monsters will take their chance to attack. But it's too early in the year for the tree to be blooming."

"Yuri!"

A boy rushed at them, shouting and waving. He was not even a teenager yet, but he carried a large bag, the strap across his chest, and a long sword handle coming out of one of the flaps. He dashed right up to Yuri, whom he had apparently been calling to, and doubled over, breathing heavily. He took a few moments to catch his breath before continuing. When he began talking, he seemed to have forgotten his original intention and looked instead up to Flynn and Estellise. "Who are these people?"

"This is Estelle. And Flynn, too, I guess." Yuri pointed each one out with his thumb, grimacing a little when introducing the knight.

Flynn had to keep himself from growling. He managed to keep his disdain for the man who seemed to be continually trying his patience down to a scowl.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Karol Capel."

Estellise shook his hand.

"I'm really glad you're finally here, Yuri! The town's been attacked by monsters and the barrier is failing even worse this year! There are a lot of injured people-"

Before he could even finish, Estellise stopped him. "Where are they? I can help."

"This way!" He took her hand easily and ran across a bridge and down a hill.

"She seems like a good kid. We should probably follow them. Wouldn't want to wear the young lady out." He took a step forward, but Flynn stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder. "What?"

"Who is that child and what is going on here?"

"You ask me like I have all the answers."

"You seem to have quite a lot of them."

"Just an innocent kid from Dahngrest who likes to follow me around. As far as what's going on here, I'm no blastia expert so I couldn't tell you." A long, thin smirk crossed his face, but his eyes were humorless. "Maybe you should stop being so suspicious of me just because I'm from Dahngrest. That's called prejudice. Not everyone who's in a guild is a bad person."

Flynn was taken aback by this. The look he wore could not be mistaken as anything less than absolutely serious. But after a moment of this, Yuri's face softened a bit and he moved on to follow Karol and Estellise. He followed, a little dumbfounded, a hard lump sitting in his throat. They took the same path that the other two had, Repede hanging back behind them, and found a little park at the bottom of a hill. Estellise was there, kneeling beside an injured man and using her healing artes on him. He wanted to warn her to be more careful, but she couldn't stand to see anyone suffering. Someone offered her some money, but she respectfully declined. A small 'heh' escaped from Yuri as he shook his head in amusement.

"Where did you find a healer, Yuri?" Karol approached them once more.

"Oh, you know. I just picked these two up in Zaphias."

"What were you doing there?"

He didn't even miss a beat, making sure that Flynn didn't have a chance to answer for him. "Just some work. Nothing big."

"You should be more careful! If someone were to find out and alert the Knights, you'd get arrested."

Yuri chuckled. It was already too late for that. "Don't worry so much."

The boy didn't seem terribly satisfied when hearing that, but he left it alone. "We have a bigger problem than that. Something's wrong with the tree. That's why the barrier is so weak this early in the year."

"Any idea what's wrong?"

"It's decaying."

"Oh no! Is there anything that we can do?" Estellise overheard their conversation as she returned to Flynn's side.

"What do you think we should do?"

"I don't know, but I want to do anything I can to help. If we don't fix the barrier, the monsters will attack these people again."

They didn't really have time, with the Knights possibly being only hours behind them. They needed to get to Aspio. He wanted to help these people. It was his duty, but there were bigger problems and this was something that should have been left for mages and not for a curious princess. They were not equipped for this.

Flynn opened his mouth to object, but Yuri interjected.

"If that's what you want to do, why don't we go take a look at the tree? Maybe we can find some clue as to what's going on."

It was agreed, and they all headed up a long, steep hill, Flynn following along quietly. He would allow her to entertain this curiosity in spite of the time crunch they were feeling. He would still suggest moving on. The Knights were not too far behind them and would be able to handle the defense of the city better than four people and a dog could.

They reached the top of the hill in a matter of moments, and stood beneath the tree whose branches hung low and covered in soft, pink blossoms. But even he, knowing so little about the working of blastia and its effect on the natural world, could tell that something was wrong. Winter had barely left the continent of Illycia, and this tree was already in full bloom when the trees in Zaphias were only just budding. The blooming of this tree should be weeks away. The large, black spot staining the ground in front of the tree was suspicious as well.

"The roots of the tree have been absorbing the blood of a lot of the monsters. I think it's making it sick. If we don't do something, it'll wither and die!" Karol explain, fists pumping.

"What should we do?" Estelle's eyes widening as she was getting caught up in his fervor.

"I think a panacea bottle would help, but they're all out at the general store."

"None of us are experts. Are we even sure that something as simple as a panacea bottle would fix the whole problem?" Flynn asked.

Yuri glared at him for doubting the boy.

"What I'm saying is that we should try to find an expert on natural occurrences of blastia and see what they have to say on the matter. Surely someone in Aspio will know how to fix the barrier here."

"Trying couldn't hurt right, Flynn?" She looked at him as if pleading. "We can't leave things as they are. Let's try Karol's idea and then if that doesn't work, we'll head to Aspio and find help. Is that alright?" He couldn't resist when she asked something of him. It was no different than receiving an order from his superiors.

"If that is what you want..."

"Thank you, Flynn!"

"So, Karol, what do we do?"

"I talked to the guy who runs the general store, and he said that if we get him an eggbear claw, a nia fruit, and a luluria petal, he could make us one. Eggbears and nia fruit can both be found in the Quoi Woods, but I haven't been able to find out where to get the luluria petals."

"Well, why don't we go get the things we can take care of, and worry about the petals last? Someone around town might know where we can get them."

And here Flynn was looking forward to getting to rest a little before continuing to Aspio. He was not prepared for a side quest that would put them back toward the exact place they were fleeing from. If all went well though, they could finish it quickly and be back on the road. Yet, he was wondering who this child was as he watched Yuri, Karol, and Estellise head off back down the hill. Yuri ruffled the boy's hair and they strode along together like a pair of brothers. That made him worry for Karol's future. What good could come of associating with known criminals? How was the dark haired man influencing the boy in what could easily be negative ways?

Repede barked at him to keep up and he was forced to follow behind.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Notes: This chapter is much closer to the original than I am completely comfortable with, but it should at least provide a good contrast for how much things change going forward.

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

The Quoi Woods weren't exactly where he wanted to be at this moment, seeing as he had been through them twice now, but there were things much more important than his own comfort. He wanted to be off Illycia and back toward Dahngrest soon, but seeing what they could do to fix the barrier in Halure came first.

"So, what is this eggbear?" Estelle asked.

Yuri was well traveled and had fought a lot of monsters, including an eggbear or two, but let Karol pull a huge leather tome out of his bag and flip through pages of ink drawings with notes scribbled in the margins. Karol had been working on this book for a few years now and it was slowly filling. He stopped flipping at the picture Yuri recognized as their target.

"They're huge with these giant arms and big teeth and really nasty tempers. But they're hard to find."

"So how do we locate one then?"

Karol reached up toward a tree that hung just off the path, reaching for a pink and orange globe shaped fruit. He was still a little too short, even when up on the tips of his toes, so Yuri grabbed it instead and handed it down to him. "Eggbears really like the smell of the nia fruit. Which is pretty lucky since we need it anyway."

Yuri plucked another one, and handed it over to Estelle. She brought it to her nose and sniffed it. She quickly extended it as far away from her as she could. That didn't help, since Karol threw the first fruit on the ground, crushing it with his sword. The scent that filled the air was overpowering and sickening. It was far worse than rotting vegetables and refuse, and Repede staggered a bit after getting a good whiff of it. He collapsed, but got himself together after a moment, and shook it off. Everyone covered their mouths and noses.

"Jeez, let us know before you do something like that."

"Sorry." He scratched the back of his head. "But with this, we should see an eggbear any time now."

A rustle in the bushes beside them set them on alert, but proved to only be a Filifolia ambling through. Rather than waiting around in one spot, they walked around a bit, the red cloud of stench following behind them. It would be weeks before he would be able to get that smell out of his hair and clothing. But that was really the least of his worries. He was mostly glad that Flynn had not demanded his sword back. He hoped that this worked, because he didn't want to risk the Lord of the Plains returning to attack the town a second time. He had taken out one of the beast's eyes and if he came back for revenge and Yuri wasn't there to finish him off, some unlucky person could be hurt, or worse, killed, as a result.

They traversed the forest for nearly an hour, before a loud crashing came through the brush and revealed to them a large eggbear tromping across their path. Unlike the Filifolia, it didn't flee from them, but instead faced them snarling. Yuri had his sword out in a flash, and was ready for the fight. He was still brimming with energy from the fight outside Halure. Karol was ready, too.

They both moved in, charging the beast before Flynn and Estelle could even be ready. Their readiness would give the other two a moment to get their acts together.

As both of them were heavy hitters, they put up a full assault, double-teaming the huge creature. They attacked as a tag team. Whenever one of them needed to back off to use an item or an arte, the other distracted the eggbear and they would switch off as necessary. After just a few seconds, Flynn and Estelle joined them, and with Flynn's extra, capable sword, and Estelle's healing and support artes, the eggbear didn't' stand a chance against them.

It hit the ground with a crash as Yuri's Ghost Wolf arte delivered a final and devastating strike. He raised his hand high over Karol and the boy jumped up and slapped his hand hard enough to leave it stinging.

"That was great!" He balled his fists and pulled them inward quickly as a sort of victory arm pump. "Flynn and Estelle, you were both great out there, too!" He went about grabbing up a few of the eggbear's claws, which came off easily.

"You guys are pretty good." Yuri sounded almost reluctant to admit it, but he really meant it. He raised his hand again toward Estelle, but she just looked at him curiously. "What? You going to leave me hanging?"

She pressed one finger into the center of his palm, and blushed and looked away after he shot her an incredulous stare. "I'm sorry. I don't quite understand."

It really shouldn't have surprised him that a pampered princess wouldn't know about such colloquialisms.

"It's called a high five. It's like a sign of victory." Karol seemed baffled by this as well.

"Oh. I see."

Flynn ignored this little exchange, instead focusing on the fallen foe. He was so absorbed in observing the eggbear, that he didn't hear Yuri creep up behind him. He waited a moment right behind Flynn to see if he was going to be caught, but the knight made no indication of noticing his presence. Was he really this dense? Oh, this was going to be fun.

"RWAR!" He shouted as loudly as he could right in the blond's ear.

He could see the fear clench his muscles and Flynn turned sharply, hard trained, sword drawn and ready for battle. Yuri blocked a strike that could have proven to be fatal if he hadn't been prepared. This knight was someone who shouldn't be fooled around with, but that made messing with him all that much more fun. It would be no fun at all if there wasn't a reaction, even if potentially violent.

Flynn pushed back, sending him stumbling for a single step before he caught himself.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Just having a little fun. Chill out."

"Do you think all of this is just a game?! This is serious! What if some-"

He stopped listening, and walked away instead. He could still hear the blond yelling even louder at him, but the content was lost. Not that he really cared. "Lets head back. We've still got to find that luluria petal."

Estelle, Karol and Repede followed and as soon as Flynn realized that his argument was falling on deaf ears, he stormed along behind him as well. It was clear that he wasn't going to let this go easily, but would wait until he had a more captive audience. A captive audience would be something out of his reach soon, if Yuri had anything to do with it. Flynn didn't mind making his frustration known, shooting angry glances whenever he got close enough, but Yuri didn't flinch. This knight might have been strong and even good in a fight, but that didn't give Yuri a reason to fear him. He was more than capable of holding his own against some goody-goody Royal Guard.

The trek back to Halure was an easy one. Even with as quickly as they moved, it was after dusk when they arrived. Even at night, the tree seemed to glow, but the rings of the barrier were even dimmer now than they had been in daylight.

"This is not looking good." His eyes traced a path around the rings that encircled the city. "We really need to get a hold of those petals and get the panacea bottle made."

"What sort of petals would you be looking for?" An elderly man who walked with a slouch approached them.

"We're looking for something called a luluria petal. Would you know where we could find one?" Estelle spoke before any of them could, but that made Yuri smile a little. She didn't seem to have a problem interacting with people of the lower classes at all in spite of her noble standing.

"Why would you be looking for that?"

"We need to make a panacea bottle in order to fix the tree!"

He was understandably skeptical. He looked at them suspiciously for a moment, but must have judged them in good favor after a long moment. "I have one left. If you think it'll fix the tree and the barrier, I'll give it to you."

"Thank you!"

He motioned for them to follow him to the first house in the village. It was only marginally larger than the others, but Yuri could tell that this man was someone important in the village, most probably the mayor. He took them to the main room of his home, which was a rounded, enclosed porch that surrounded a tree. He offered them cushioned seats along the circular walkway, and all of them sat but Yuri.

The old man disappeared for a few moments and returned with a small box that he handed to Estelle. "This is the last of my luluria petals. In order for them to be effective as medicine, they have to be dried in the shade for six months. They're quite valuable, but if it'll fix the tree, then please take it."

She opened the box carefully, looking at the single, dark pink petal sitting within. "Thank you so much. Let's go make that panacea bottle."

Before Flynn could even stand, she was bowing to the mayor, and rushing off with Karol.

"She's a perky one, isn't she?"

Flynn glared at him, and then followed the other two without a word. Yuri trailed along behind. When the two of them reached the general store, Karol and Estelle were already there, surrendering the ingredients and the money required for the synthesis. Luckily, it didn't take more than half an hour for the synthesis process, but Yuri still watched the barrier above with the smallest tinges of anxiety lingering in his limbs. They couldn't afford for this to fail. This could mean the difference between life and death for these villagers, and he had seen first hand once before what could happen if a barrier blastia failed.

Just above the rings, shone the brightest star in the sky, Brave Vesperia, and after a few moments of being entranced by its light, he realized that the blond knight was also staring. He wanted to say something. He wanted a sarcastic and biting remark, but nothing of the sort came to him.

"Didn't take you for the contemplative kind."

"You either."

Perhaps, in spite of all their differences, they could get along without attempting to kill each other. It was still fun to tease the uptight man and this brief moment of seriousness between them wouldn't change that. There were better times than this for fun and games.

"Flynn, Yuri, the panacea bottle's ready. Let's go."

"I hope this works," He said under his breath, and avoided Flynn's gaze as he headed up the hill toward the tree. Karol was rushing on ahead, but he warned him to be careful. This could be their one chance. The boy blushed, embarrassed, and continued on with more caution.

In the few hours that they had been gone the condition of the tree had worsened by far. The black spot along the ground had grown and the bark of the tree was blackening also. The branches were visibly brittle, and the flowers crinkling with dryness. They weren't prepared to give up yet. Not that Yuri was ever ready to give up.

Karol and Estelle knelt on the dark spot in the withered grass and opened the bottle. Without ceremony, the boy poured the contents on the roots of the tree and they waited, looking up hopefully.

Nothing happened.

They waited a few moments more, and still nothing.

"Perhaps we should head to Aspio and look for an expert now." Flynn tried to sound sympathetic, but he had acted like he knew it wasn't going to work from the start.

The rings of the barrier dimmed further until they were just faint white lines against the sky. They didn't have time. If the barrier went down, this town was doomed.

Estelle stood, staring up at the ever-darkening tree, her hands folded in prayer. They hadn't noticed before the crowd gathering on the hill behind them, their heads all raised, hoping.

"Was the dose too small? Do we need another one?"

"Why didn't it work? We tried so hard..." She closed her eyes, and stood there in silent reverence. "Please... don't give up..."

Yuri couldn't look anymore, but as a warm, white light filled his vision, he looked back.

Estelle was glowing, her hair and clothing billowed by a wind that only seemed to affect her and the top of the tree. As the glow around her intensified, the tree started to glow as well, emanating a bright white light.

"Lady Estellise!"

"E-Estelle?"

The light grew to a blinding brightness, and with a sudden flash, it was gone, and Estelle was fainting before them. Flynn managed to catch her once more before she hit the ground. Karol knelt beside her and Yuri, too, but they were careful to not crowd her.

"Hey, you okay?"

Her green eyes fluttered open and she sat up. "What happened?" Before they could answer, she looked up to the tree, and they did with her. Its blossoms were glowing brightly in the night, as healthy as if they were just starting to bloom. The dark spot at the roots was gone and only green, lush grass remained in its place. Up above its branches, the rings of the barrier of Halure were bright, glittering white as they should have been, and with a small sigh of relief, they knew that the village was safe now.

"Thank you so much, Miss. How can we ever repay what you have done?"

She touched her forehead gingerly and stood. "I don't really know what I did, but as long as the town is safe, that's enough for me."

Yuri didn't know what she had done either, but whatever it was, it was impressive. She had single-handedly restored the barrier. He stood and pulled the stunned Karol up also. He looked around a little. It appeared as though the whole village was there to witness the event. So much for the idea of them laying low until they got to Aspio.

"At least allow me to offer you a meal and a place to rest for the evening."

That sounded like a great idea, but Repede's cold wet nose touched his hand like a signal. He looked to where the dog pointed with his snout to see a familiar figure scanning the village from one of the rooftops. It was Zagi and he was accompanied by two men dressed in dark clothing and wearing goggles with red lenses. Their appearance here was no mistake, and he didn't like the idea of the assassin being involved in nefarious goings-on within the Empire.

Yuri nudged Flynn, who looked at him sharply. He nodded a little, alerting the knight to the threat.

"That would be lov-."

"I'm afraid we really have to keep going."

Estelle and Karol both glanced back confused, but the blond remained firm.

"Thank you for your offer, but we are in a hurry."


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Notes: And here people were hoping that Flynn and Yuri were going to start getting along soon.

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

They put as much distance between themselves and Halure as possible. Once they were out of town, and well on their way to Aspio, they stopped to make camp. He and Yuri explained that they had seen Zagi and a few of his minions.

"Whoa! What have you done to get the Red-Eyes after you?!" Karol was shocked.

"Red-Eyes?" Flynn stoked the fire a bit, his curiosity stoked as well.

"Yeah. They're a group of assassins, and Zagi's one of their strongest."

"An assassin's guild."

"No." Yuri set his kettle down. "They're not an official guild and they're not endorsed by the Union. They're a group of would-be guild thugs. They'll offer their services to whoever pays them the most."

"But why are they after you, Flynn?" Karol asked.

"I don't know."

"Hopefully, we'll be able to get some answers when we get to Aspio," Yuri added.

"Why are you guys going to Aspio anyway?"

"We need to find an expert on aer," Estellise said.

"What for?"

"To find out what Alexei is doing to Zaphias, and to my cousin, Ioder." Sometimes Estellise's lack of fear astounded him. This boy could easily turn on her for being with the Empire. "I don't know what he's planning, but if Zaphias and its people are in trouble, I have to act."

Karol eyed her suspiciously and Flynn, too. "So you're both Imperial citizens..."

"They're telling the truth, Karol. I was there."

The boy tilted back in surprise, his brown eyes fixed on Yuri. He was just as surprised as Flynn that the dark haired man was defending them. "W-what-?"

"I was chasing the blastia thief."

"Oh." He flopped down beside Yuri, who had since begun cooking.

Flynn still watched him, but not as suspiciously as before. One good meal hadn't completely changed his mind about the supposed spy, though. There were other things to worry about, like the situation in Zaphias. He still didn't like him and he still didn't trust him but there was something about Yuri that had recently begun to worry him less. He wasn't sure what it was, or why. The two of them were so different that they could apparently disagree on everything. He hadn't tried to escape and had been more helpful than Flynn would have expected from someone who was a criminal. It was likely that he was hoping for some leniency in his sentence. With people other than Flynn, he seemed almost friendly. He didn't treat Estellise with the respect owed to one of her social status, but he still treated her kindly. He said that Karol was just a kid who followed him around, but the small exchanges between them, such as the way he ruffled the boy's hair and smiled, were brotherly.

Those things did not change the fact that Yuri was a criminal and Flynn had to keep a close eye on him. He couldn't risk him escaping. He had to hold fast.

"I've been meaning to ask you. Why were you so interested in helping those people?"

Yuri glanced at him, questioning, as he handed him a bowl of food.

"They were Imperial citizens. I would think you wouldn't be concerned about their problems."

"Whatever. They were just innocent people. It's not like the Empire takes care of them or anything." He passed food off to Estellise and Karol before sitting down next to the fire with Repede.

Flynn and Estellise just looked at him stunned and offended.

Yuri was unimpressed. "Can you honestly tell me that your Imperial Council or the Commandant would have done anything to help those people?"

"Surely, they would have sent at least-"

"How long does it take to mobilize a brigade of knights? Even in an emergency?"

"A few days at most."

"Do you think that the people of Halure would have had a few days? If we hadn't arrived when we did, the Lord of the Plains would have destroyed the whole village. Face it, the Empire is useless. The only people that the Empire cares about are the rich. Regular people don't stand a chance against that."

Flynn was on his feet in a flash, marching stiffly toward him. Anger burned in his every muscle and his skin was hot in spite of the cool spring breeze. He grabbed Yuri up by the collar with both hands. "What do you know?!"

"What do _I_ know? What do _you_ know?! Have you ever had to live without the safety of a barrier?! Do you know what the real world is like?!" The dark haired man pushed back, nearly knocking him back into the grass. He rolled up easily off the ground, and Yuri charged to tackle Flynn.

As Yuri threw all of his weight at Flynn, his head hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of him and sending his brain spinning. They rolled across the grass, throwing punches and shouting incoherently. Just when Flynn thought he got the upper hand, Yuri would move with such agility that it surprised him, and he would end up pinned to the ground. He could hear Estellise shouting at them to stop as he twisted his hips to take control once more. Yuri punched him in the face a few times before struggling to his feet, panting, and wiping the blood from his busted lower lip. Flynn grabbed his leg, kicking the other out from underneath him. Yuri fell, exchanging fists with him once more.

This continued for a moment until Repede jumped into the fray, barking and snarling and tearing them apart. Karol pulled Yuri back from further attack while Estellise braced Flynn.

"Stop fighting. Both of you."

Yuri spit blood some distance and wiped his mouth again. He huffed, rolling up off the ground again, and, surprisingly, a smirk spread across his face. "You're not too bad for a dog of the Empire."

Anger started to rise in him over the sheer audaciousness of this insufferable person, but as he heard that comment, Flynn felt the breath pulled out of him. It wasn't the insult that caused him to freeze. He had heard that string of words before, the sarcastic tone attached, stretching out as his patience was stretching. Try as he might, his mind scanning every memory for when and where he could have heard it, he couldn't remember. Who could have said this before? Could he had met this person before?

"Are you alright, Flynn?" Estellise pushed a bit of his blond hair out of his face, her fingers running over his swelling eye.

"I-I'm fine, Lady Estellise." He shifted his glance over to where Yuri and Karol were chatting.

She healed him and then moved over to do the same for Yuri. He thanked her, and she made some mention of wishing the two of them would get along at least for a while.

Things settled down after a few moments and they went back to eating. Flynn didn't even taste the food anymore, but his stomach received it with little problem. It was probably delicious, but he didn't want to think that this person could be capable of anything good.

"Get some sleep."

Flynn only realized how late it was when Yuri nudged him with his foot, and he looked up to see the moon hanging high in the night sky between the thick tree tops. Estellise and Karol were already asleep beside the fire, and Repede lay beside it, watching the tree line with little concern.

"Repede'll keep watch."

"I will also." He didn't really feel up to it, but after their skirmish, he didn't want to take his eyes off the guildsman.

The dog growled at him.

"He says to leave things to him. He'll keep us safe."

Flynn opened his mouth, but lost his argument.

He watched instead as Yuri grabbed his blanket and nestled down between the roots of the tree across the small glade, his back against the trunk. "So, the little princess is pretty amazing." His tone of voice was curious and thoughtful, and Flynn didn't like it. What had happened at Halure was something they shouldn't have witnessed.

"If you tell anyone about what you saw back there, I will-"

"Chill out." He waved a hand at him. "I won't tell anyone."

"As long as you understand."

Yuri sighed and closed his eyes.

Flynn assumed that this was the end of the discussion, and wrapped himself up in his simple sleeping bag. But there was a question on his mind that he had been meaning to ask for a while now.

"Where did you get your blastia?"

"Hm? My blastia?" Yuri looked down at his wrist. "Why? What's it matter to you?"

"Blastia is a precious commodity, and a bodhi blastia like that is usually reserved for Imperial Knights. How did you come across something like that?" He tried not to imply that Yuri's means of coming upon a blastia like that may have been illicit, but the suspicion was there, and Yuri saw that.

"Oh, so you think I stole it." He laughed, and seemed to shrug it off. "An old friend of mine gave it to me. Perfectly legal, nothing to worry your little head over."

Flynn wasn't satisfied with that. It wasn't easy for just anyone to get a bodhi blastia like that, and the bangle that Yuri wore had been heavily modified from what looked like a basic knight's blastia. But he had no proof and accusations weren't going to get him anywhere.

He rolled away from Yuri. He didn't like turning his back on him, but looking at him filled him with anger. He curled into himself tightly, hunching his shoulders and squeezing his eyes shut. It didn't help. For over a week, a decent night's rest had always eluded him and he was left thinking, the thoughts in his head a jumbled, nearly incoherent mess.

For one more night, sleep would slip away from him again.

* * *

He hung toward the back of the group as they walked on to Aspio, even as Flynn kept eying him suspiciously. Yuri would occasionally spend a few moments watching back toward Halure from the top of the hills that were quickly becoming mountains as they neared the City of Scholars. He would take great pains to cover their tracks when they made them and kept alert of whatever or whoever might be following them. He didn't care much for the blond knight, but he didn't want Zagi following them for a variety of reasons. He had no desire to be the next on the Red-Eyes hit list.

Yuri had known Zagi for a few years now. In Dahngrest, they lived on opposite sides, but their paths had crossed before, although their blades had not. Frankly, that surprised him. Zagi had made it known in no uncertain terms how eager he was to resort to violence if he felt the need arise, which was disturbingly often. He was even known to take his frustrations and temper out on his own comrades. Who a person was meant little to a man whose hands longed for nothing more than blood. Yuri had to respect him though. Among the Red-Eyes, Zagi was the strongest, and knew the lonely pang that left all too well.

He didn't like the looks of this, though. Why was Zagi after the mostly clueless Flynn Scifo? Was he working with Commandant Alexei like Yuri initially believed? He didn't believe in coincidences, especially not in the case of major heads of state. Alexei mentioned that Zagi had failed him. Why were the Red-Eyes working for the Empire? What were they planning?

"Are they still following us?" Flynn stopped beside him as he paused on a hilltop only a mile or so from the entrance to Aspio.

"No. It looks like they didn't even notice us in Halure."

"What's a group like the Red-Eyes working with Alexei for?"

"The better question is 'why is he after you?'" Yuri glanced over, but the knight's gaze remained fixed on the horizon.

"I don't know." It obviously troubled him as well, but Yuri could see in his sky blue eyes that it wasn't his main concern. His gaze moved away from the still visible tree of Halure and toward the Quoi Woods. If he could have seen that far, he would have been staring at Zaphias. Yuri had to commend his single minded determination to find out what was going on. Even if he was from the Empire, his pigheadedness was admirable. "We're almost there. We should keep moving."

Yuri nodded, decently satisfied that their trail was covered and Zagi was not hot on their heels. They hiked to the bottom of the hill where Estelle, Karol, and Repede were waiting, and they entered the massive cave that housed the city.

There was a small problem. Or a large one, rather. Before them was a huge gate, and brown and olive uniformed guards in the way. If it wasn't one problem, it was another. He swore and before the guards could spot them and ask for identification, he motioned for the others to duck into a small alcove to the left of the path with him.

"What's wrong?"

"Those guards. They might not recognize us, but they'll definitely ask to see our papers."

"Papers?" Estelle asked innocently.

"By law, you need written permission to travel within the Empire. Karol and I have some forged documents, but I doubt that the two of you are carrying anything like that."

Flynn nodded. "How do we get in then?"

"Hey, guys. I think I found a way." Karol called to them with a whisper from further down the alcove path. There was a door, set into the cave wall and from the wear and tear on it, Yuri could tell that it was probably an entrance used by the researchers that gave this city its namesake. "It's locked, though."

"Karol, show them that thing I taught you."

"Oh! Okay, Yuri." The boy dug around in his sizable bag for a few seconds before producing a ring of lock picks.

Flynn opened his mouth, anger playing across his face and rampant in his eyes, but the boy got the lock open before he could act his protest out.

"W-we shouldn't be breaking in! That's illegal!" Estelle found her words of protest easily enough.

"Do you want to find a researcher or not?"

The princess stiffened and calmed. "You're right. We do need to find a scholar. In the future, let's try to find another way first, though."

Karol and Repede snuck in first and left them outside for a moment.

"What are you teaching that boy?" Flynn passed a hand down his face in frustration.

"How to survive in the real world." It was the truth. "Regular folks like us have it tough."

Flynn bit this tongue to keep from starting another fistfight. Yuri found it interesting how calm the blond was around everyone else except himself.

"We're clear!" Karol poked his head out of the door frame and waved them in.

The room they entered was full of books, more than any one person could ever read in their whole lifetime, stacked ceiling to floor. Estelle looked around bright eyed, gingerly running her fingers along the spines as she browsed the assembled titles. Yuri approached the first person he spotted, a squat man with a greasy face and balding top, who was dressed in an embroidered black robe. Flynn followed him closely, and managed to speak to the man first.

"Excuse me. I'm looking for an expert on aer. Who would you recommend?"

"We're also looking for a guy named Mordio."

The man sneered at them in disinterest. "The person you're both looking for lives in a shack off the main plaza." He left without another word, dragging a large bundle of books behind him.

"Mordio?"

"Yeah. That's the name of the blastia thief I'm hunting."

"No. I know Mordio. She's no thief."

He cocked an eyebrow at Flynn. "Prove it."

The knight must have been in Aspio before, because as they left the book stacks, he took the lead and showed them the way across the city.

The shack was just where the scholar said it would be. It was a small, two story, ramshackle place that was built down a hill and haphazardly constructed against the wall of another building on the cliff beside it. It was in a state of disrepair, looking as though, if they got near it, it would simply crumble. Unafraid though, Flynn moved straight to the front door and knocked.

There was no answer, so he knocked a second time. Even after a few moments, nothing happened.

Yuri cracked his knuckles. "Guess it's my turn."

"What do you want?"

They turned collectively to the top of the hill where a girl stood, dressed in red and black, goggles flat against her choppy, auburn hair and her teal eyes stern. She strode toward them confidently. Across her back was a travel pack and below it, in a harness at the small of her back was a huge, leather bound book. The smudges of dirt and grass stains across her face and knees gave away her occupation as a field researcher. She stopped in front of them, rocking back on one heel and crossing her arms over her chest, judging them carefully.

"Ms. Mordio."

"Do I know you?" She definitely wasn't the thief he had seen in Zaphias. This girl wasn't even sixteen yet.

"My name is Flynn Scifo and I have come from the Imperial capital of-"  
She cut him off. "You can tell the Commandant that I'm not interested! I've already gone over this!"

"Wait. I-"

She stormed past him and up to the door. "If you don't leave now, I'll blow all of you to kingdom come!"

"I'm sorry." Estelle squeezed past Flynn. "There seems to be a misunderstanding. We're not here on behalf of Commandant Alexei. We were told that you are a leader in the field of aer and blastia research." Her regal demeanor seemed to calm the young woman. "We would like to ask you a few questions if that's all right."

"F-Fine." The girl blushed.

The princess extended her hand in greeting just as she had done to Yuri. "My name is Estelle. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Rita Mordio. Likewise."

She allowed them into her house, which wasn't much better constructed on the inside and was filled with all manner of scientific materials; books, scrolls, glasses filled with strange liquids, maps, charts and strange looking machines. One would hardly be able to tell this was the home of a fifteen year old girl. They sat on the wooden floor as she only had one chair in the room and it was missing a leg and covered in books.

Flynn and Estelle recounted the events in the palace of Zaphias. Yuri and Karol listened carefully, but as soon as Rita's eyes lit up, she drowned out all else. He still wanted to ask her about the blastia thief, but that would have to wait.

"I've never heard of someone doing anything like that. With how blastia function, it should be impossible unless the castle is positioned on an aer krene. The way you describe it, it's not functioning at all like a regular blastia and this Ioder kid, how does he fit in? I wonder... could this have anything to do with the Rizomata Formula...?" She stood and scrambled through the books and papers scrawled across her desk. She spent a few good minutes doing this, mumbling to herself. "People being used like blastia... aer density... Zaphias... how does it all connect?!"

"You think that Ioder was being used as a blastia?"

She spun on her heel to look at them. "It's a bit of a stretch, but like blastia and things that occur naturally, humans also conduct aer to a degree. For a normal person, the amount of aer required to do anything like what you've described would be easily fatal."

Estelle's fingers curled tightly into the fabric of her pink skirt and her gaze fixed on the floor to keep her eyes from watering. "I-I know that he was alive when we saw him."

"Then there's something different about him." Rita turned back to her desk, flipping through a few books. "I would really have to see it and examine what's going on to tell you anything definite."

"Easier said than done." Yuri spoke up finally. "He sealed the palace off with some force field to prevent us from getting back in. And we had to flee Zaphias after that."

She seemed intrigued by the force field, but tilted her head to look at him after he mentioned their escaped. "Why?"

"The Knights are after us."

Rita eyed him suspiciously once more.

"I assure you, Ms. Mordio, the charges are highly exaggerated. We fled because of what we saw with the Commandant and we have traveled here to seek your council."

"Whatever. So the main issue is that we need to see what's going on in the capital, but we can't because of your fugitive status and inability to break the seal on the palace."

"More or less."

"So, what's your plan?"

"We're headed to Dahngrest to talk to Don Whitehorse and see if we can get a ceasefire and some help to find out what's going on." Yuri hid a snort as Flynn explained his idea. Apprehension and second thoughts about his plan seemed to have finally set in, and Yuri actually found himself feeling a little bad for Flynn.

Karol opened his mouth to say something, no doubt regarding the Don and his willingness or lack thereof to help in this situation, but Yuri shook his head and the boy remained quiet.

"That's a stupid plan. But it seems like our best option. Let me get a few things packed and we can head for Capua Nor." She pulled off her pack and emptied its contents on to her desk before repacking half of the original contents and several other things off the top of her desk.

Karol stood and took to looking at the numerous gadgets and knickknacks that were littered about the room. he reached up to touch a boxy machine.

"Don't touch anything, squirt!"

He stopped and moved back to sit with Yuri, his face red with embarrassment.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Estelle glided to the desk and peeked over Rita's shoulder.

A faint pink tinted the girl's cheeks. "N-no. It's fine. I'm almost done."

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask. Do you know of a blastia thief that would be using the name Mordio?"

She whipped around once more. "Are you saying that you think I'm a thief?!"

Yuri held his hands up to defend himself.

"Yuri didn't mean it like that. He's just looking for a blastia thief that was going by your name. He knows that it couldn't have been you."

"Yeah. This was a man, about middle aged-"

A knock at the door interrupted further conversation and they froze.

"Rita Mordio, by order of the Imperial Knights, open this door."

There was no time to panic. She motioned for them to hide, and she opened the door. The female knight who stood there wore a blue and green infantry uniform. She was of a medium height and average build, with chin length orange hair and startling, cat-like purple eyes. She saluted to Rita, but her eyes were venturing elsewhere. From his hiding spot, Yuri could see that her eyes locked with Flynn's and he swore internally. His lightly tanned skin turned deathly pale. She recognized him. She knew him. This was bad.

After a few seconds, she broke the gaze and cleared her throat.

"What do you want?"

"The barrier blastia at Ehmead Hill has broken and we were sent to fetch you to fix it."

"Get someone else. I'm on a job."

"As a state funded researcher, you cannot disregard a direct order from the Commandant."

Rita stomped one foot impatiently. "Fine! I'll stop by and try to figure out what the problem is. In the mean time, get out!"

"The Empire and the Commandant thank you for your continued service." Before the knight could say anything else, Rita slammed the door in her face, sending a harsh tremor through the building. They waited in their hiding spots until they could hear the march of boots drift away from them.

"Okay. New plan." She was furious, her already harsh tone now clipped with anger. "We'll go to Ehmead Hill. we have to go through there to get to Nor anyway. I'll fix the blastia and catch up with you."

"I suppose that'll have to do." Yuri looked over to Flynn, who had crawled out from underneath the spiral staircase. "Who was that?"

"Sodia. She served with me before I became a Royal Guard."

"Any reason why she didn't rat us out? It's plain that she saw you. I'm sure that the whole of the Imperial Knights is looking for us by now."

"I have no idea."

Yuri let it rest at that as Rita bustled by him, throwing more items into her pack. This was going to be a longer journey than he initially thought. A stop at Ehmead Hill would slow them down and then having to wait on Rita at Nor Harbor for who knew how long it could take to fix a barrier blastia. There was still no sign of the elusive blastia thief in sight.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Notes: In case you're wondering, yes. I completely cut out the Shaikos Ruins. They were important to game development, but they will not be appearing here as I can get around them. Thankfully.

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

He noted Yuri being even more cautious as they passed through the hills surrounding Halure. They had seen no trace of Zagi, but they didn't want to risk being seen by the Red-Eyes. It made him wonder. Was Yuri concerned for the sake of his own hide if the assassin showed up, or possibly for theirs? From what he could discern from Yuri's fighting style, Zagi may have been a challenge, but not undefeatable for the man, even alone. Something about all of this bothered him, and bothered Yuri, even if his outward confidence wouldn't show it.

They cleared the limits of Halure after a day and neared Ehmead Hill by a second. Estellise and Rita were becoming fast friends, although an awkwardness hung between them that he couldn't describe. Between the group as a whole, it was becoming more comfortable, and he found himself less worried about Yuri escaping or slitting their throats in their sleep. That was strange, because he still didn't trust Yuri.

It was nearly noon on the third day before they reached the pass to Capua Nor, and they were not surprised to find the place full of knights and researchers. They split up at the entrance before they could be spotted.

"Catch up with us in Nor Harbor as soon as possible," Yuri said.

"I'll see you there." Rita adjusted her pack and tromped up the hill toward the collected guards.

"This way." Yuri moved a branch aside and slipped down an old monster trail between the bushes. This trail ran somewhat beside the main thoroughfare, but ventured off into the forest and up the hill separately after many yards. It was mostly overgrown, with trampled leaves and branches lying around, though it had been in some recent use. With all the back alleys he knew, Flynn assumed it had been Yuri. He had to have gotten from Dahngrest to Zaphias without alerting the guards somehow. Flynn never imagined that this knowledge would be useful to himself, but it was most helpful.

With the barrier broken, the trail was fraught with monsters and they were forced to fight their way through. Each time he watched Yuri fight, he appreciated it a little more. Although they still argued and only two nights ago their anger had turned to blows, they seemed to be getting along better because of it. It was hard to not still be suspicious, though. Yuri was still the enemy and still a prisoner and for someone who did not yet know what his fate would be, he was being awfully helpful. At the very least though, he could respect him from a fighting stance.

About a half an hour into their trek, they reached the point where they could see Rita on the pass below them, examining the fallen, smashed, barrier blastia. She moved here and there, touching it, moving her fingers across the green-blue glyph she raised from it, examining its patterns with the utmost care and years of knowledge. For someone who was barely a woman, she was highly knowledgeable in her field. It was no wonder that Commandant Alexei had once wanted her working directly for him. And with the situation as it was now, it was a good thing that she had kicked Flynn out of her home when they had first met when he delivered said request.

They peeked over the bushes that dotted the edge of the cliff and watched below.

"This is a formula I've never even seen before. It's just a mishmash of other formulas. This shouldn't even be functioning." Her eyes scanned the information given to her. "What idiot is using this formula for a blastia? Blastia don't work like this!" She stood and stormed over to the nearest knight. "Hey you! Who set this barrier up?!"

"This is Sir Garista's site."

Flynn recognized the name Garista and from the way Yuri's eyes widened and then narrowed, and his hand found the hilt of his sword, he did as well. Garista Luodor was a widely renowned and regarded military strategist and blastia researcher that was in charge of numerous Imperial projects.

"Where is he?"

"Sir Garista is currently in the capital on business."

Rita turned sharply and moved back over to the blastia. She produced the glyph once more and from the best of Flynn's ability to see, it looked as though she was changing it, mumbling to herself as she did so.

"H-Hey! You can't do that!"

She ignored the knight, even as he got closer. She was on a mission.

He grabbed her from behind and she immediately began to struggle, kicking and screaming, which only alerted more knights.

"Let me go, you idiot!"

Before Flynn could react, Yuri was sliding down the hill, sword drawn, ready to leap into the fray. He couldn't tell if it was well meaning concern for the girl's safety or the insatiable itch for battle that drove him. Maybe it was a bit of both.

Karol followed and Repede. too. Before they got completely left behind, Flynn and Estellise brought up the rear.

Yuri had already taken out the guard holding Rita and was charging the others, while the mage let loose with a blast of her fiery rage incarnate. But even with everyone's help, they were vastly outnumbered as a brigade of knights ran their way. Flynn hesitated in drawing his blade against his fellow knights. They weren't monsters. They were people with lives and families and they were all just doing their jobs. A pang of guilt stung at his chest.

"Karol! Repede!" Yuri signaled up with his hand. The dog rushed to his side, his knife at the ready.

The boy knew what this meant and gathered everyone else. "Let's go!"

"What's going on?"

"Yuri's going to distract them so we can get away. We need to get out of here now!"

One man, no matter how strong, against a brigade of knights was madness, and yet he stood before them, sword drawn and ready to fight, smirking like a confident fool.

"We can't just leave him behind!" Estellise took a step forward, but Rita held her back.

"Don't worry! Yuri can handle this. He's the greatest! He and Repede will catch up with us soon!"

_I don't have time to wait for someone who hesitates so much._

Those words spurred him into action. He couldn't hesitate anymore. "Let's go."

Estellise watched worriedly for a moment while the knights began to attack, but followed the others as they moved down the pass and quickly onto another path. They got to a point where they could no longer see the pass below or hear the battle and they waited.

"I hope Yuri's all right..."

"I'm sure he's fine. He and Repede have taken on hives of monsters on their own before with no problem. Those knights don't stand a chance."

A little while later, a pair of dark forms came up the hill. It was Yuri and Repede, a little scuffed and scratched up, but no worse for wear than they had been. Estellise rushed to them, checking for serious wounds of which there were none, and then casting her healing artes anyway. He gave her a crooked smile as she started off on how it had been mad for him to do something like that, but she was glad that they were okay.

"Are we ready to keep going? If we don't hurry, we won't reach Capua Nor until tomorrow. I'd like to sleep in a real bed tonight," Rita said, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Okay, okay." Yuri took his pack from Karol and they continued their hike up the hilly cliff.

A cool breeze wafted around them, sending the scent of salt into Flynn's nose. As they rounded a bend in the path and moved clear of the trees, he could see why. Stretching out endlessly to the northeast was the Outer Ocean. The breeze became stronger as they stopped on a grassy cliff, overlooking the bright, blue water. White waves crashed along the face of the cliff, sending salt spray up far enough to hit Flynn's face.

The feeling that washed over him was like nothing he had ever felt before. It was calming and endlessly tranquil, but also frightening. The world was so large and he was a mere speck of dust in comparison, and yet the ocean itself was only made of drops of crystalline water, even if those drops numbered into infinity. It was strange and confusing and before he could dwell on it too much further Estellise's excited voice broke him out of it, along with Karol teasing Rita and getting hit for his trouble. Yuri, though, was calm and quiet with a confident smirk on his face as his charcoal eyes gazed out to where the ocean met the sky. Whatever he was feeling, it was far less intimidating than what Flynn was experiencing in viewing the ocean for the first time. How many times had Yuri's free lifestyle allowed him this simple, powerful pleasure?

Flynn couldn't help feeling a little tinge of jealousy. This was a person who had truly seen the world.

"Come on, guys. I know it's pretty and all, but I'm ready for a shower. Let's keep going."

After a few collective groans and backwards glances, they continued around the cliff and up a little higher before the trail started to descend. The highest cliff gave an even better view of the ocean, but as they neared the top, they noticed a person standing there next to a large pile of rocks.

As they approached, he turned toward them. He was tall and lean of form, with long white hair and startling, deep red eyes. He wore clothing of an almost military cut, in deep red and black. He seemed wholly unimpressed with them and the amazing sight before him.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was so deep that it sent a shiver up Flynn's spine. He knew this person. He owed a lot to this person.

"Just passing through. Don't let us bother you," Yuri replied, but the man turned to head down the path they were coming from. "Or, you know, whatever."

Flynn stepped in his path. "Duke Pantarei?"

"Who are you?" He studied him a second and answered for him. "The Scifo boy."

"Yes, Sir."

"What do you want?"

"To thank you, Sir. My father and I owe you so much. Thanks to your compliment of him, he was made a captain. I just wish to express our gratitude."

Duke stared at him a moment before he spoke again. "I see. So this is the unintended consequence of my actions." He moved past Flynn with little effort and disappeared down the trail.

"Who was that guy?"

"Some weirdo." Rita huffed.

"Duke Pantarei. He was a hero of the Great War ten years ago. It was because of him that my father became a captain in the Imperial Knights." He tried not to think about it further than that, but failed. His tears had gone a week ago, and all that remained was a bottomless sadness.

Estellise touched his forearm gently, comfortingly, and he was reminded that he had no time to mourn. He was on a mission. His pace quickened a step in order to keep his mind from falling apart and it was only another hour so before they left Ehmead Hill and the sight of the ocean behind them.

* * *

Capua Nor was darker and quieter than Yuri remembered and it was unnerving. The dark, thunderous storm hanging over the city didn't help much. As they entered the quiet, rainy streets, he spotted a woman lying face down in a puddle. When he reached her side a second later, he could tell that she was breathing, which was a relief, but the congestion in her chest made it seem as though she were deathly ill.

"Is she all right?" Estelle knelt beside him, taking the woman's wrist in her hand and checking for a pulse.

"Alive? Yes. All right? I'm not sure." He pulled the blanket out of his pack and wrapped the woman up in it as he picked her up. "Let's get her somewhere warm and dry." He wanted to complain about finding trouble in nearly every imperial city that he visited, but that had ceased to surprise him long ago.

Luckily, they were only a block or so from the Pollux Inn, so he had Karol rent them a few rooms, and he put the woman to bed in one of them. Her work worn hands and face made her look much older than she really was. As soon as Estelle used her healing artes, her breathing eased and she appeared to rest soundly. Just as he prepared to leave her in Estelle's tender care, the woman woke.

"Teagle...?" The wedding ring that glinted on her finger as she reached out for him got his attention.

"Sorry, Lady. I'm not your husband."

Estelle helped her sit up slowly, draping a blanket over her trembling shoulders. "You people... you're not from around here."

"Yeah. We're from out of town."

"You should leave while you still can."

"A 'thank you' would be nice." Before she could apologize, he continued. "What were you doing out in the storm?"

"Looking for my husband, Teagle, and my son, Pauly. They went missing two days ago. You see... many of the townspeople have gone missing since the Magistrate took over."

"Oh really?"

"He's raised taxes to an unbearable rate and no one can afford to pay them and feed their families. Since this storm rolled in a week ago, we've been unable to launch our ships and earn the money we need to pay him. It's been raining nonstop for days and it's not even the rainy season." She shakily pushed a wisp of her brown hair out of her face.

He wasn't surprised to hear about a possibly crooked magistrate. He encountered quite a lot of unsavory people in his travels from both the Empire and the Union. He knew how to handle people like that.

"If you intend to sail from here, go back. Any boats seen in the harbor that are not moored get shot out of the water. Leave this town while you still can."

"Get some rest. The room's paid for." He moved to the door, and Estelle followed hard on his heels. They exited and she stopped him.

"Yuri, we have to help these people. We can't just leave things the way they are."

"Let's rest for now, okay? Then we'll decide what to do." It made him glad to see such a pampered princess so eager to aid those less fortunate. Maybe there was hope for Terca Lumireis yet.

That reply didn't seem to satisfy her, but he left before she could argue. He wanted to find out more before he could make a judgment. Flynn, Karol, and Rita waited in the next room, and he recounted the woman's story for them briefly.

"What are we going to do then?"

He repeated his answer to Estelle and then tacked on "I'm going to take a shower." He didn't miss the glare that Flynn shot him. It was a warning about attempting escape, but he feigned ignorance.

Yuri went directly to the small shower room adjoining the room he would share with Karol and Flynn, and locked the door behind him. He unlocked the small window and pushed it open. Luckily, the sound of the rain outside would mask the fact that he was not showering, at least for now. Upon peeking out, he spotted Repede under the inn awing. He perked up his ears and his tail softly hit the pavement as he wagged. The coast was otherwise clear, so he crawled out the window.

Repede stood, yawning and stretching before trotting along to join him as he took a stroll through town. This was an important stroll. Many houses and businesses were boarded up and abandoned. Others seemed to be barely scraping by. The degradation from when he was here before to now was obvious. Something was very wrong in this town.

They wandered past the towering, stately mansion that no doubt belonged to this reportedly crooked Magistrate. Just past that, they ducked under the 'No Trespassing' signs that barricaded off the pier. Ships bobbed in the choppy waves, knocking again their moorings and the wooden docks.

"Now how am I supposed to get to Dahngrest like this...?" At the end of the pier was the scruffy old man from the prison in Zaphias. Or, as Yuri knew him, Raven.

"Hey, Old Man."

Repede wuffed, wagging his tail once more.

Raven turned, his face slightly red. He had been drinking and he gave Yuri a crooked smile. "Hey there, Sunshine. Whatter ya doin' in Nor Harbor?"

"Same as you. Trying to get to Dahngrest. Glad to see you got out of Zaphias safely."

"You, too."

"So, do you have any intel on what's going on here? It's a lot worse looking here than last time I passed through." Yuri knew Raven had contacts all over the world, working for both the Union and the Empire, and at any given time, Raven was the person who had the best idea of what was going on anywhere.

"Way I hear it, the Magistrate, Ragou, is as crooked as they come. Raised taxes three times this month and those who can't pay get hired on as 'monster hunters'. Lot of 'em never come back. He seems to be doing a pretty good job of abusing his power as a member of the Imperial Council." He paused, glancing skyward. "Oh, somma the locals told me that a few days ago, the Knights took a weird machine in there. Somethin' suspicious. Said it looked like a blastia device or somethin'."

"So the short story is that he's definitely up to no good." He shook his head. "Jeez, why do people have to make my job harder?"

"You know he appreciates everything you do."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I guess I'll be doing my own investigation."

"Oh, any word about that blastia thief?"

"I learned one thing. His name's not Mordio. Tell Gramps that I've got a lot to tell him when I get home." Yuri and Repede turned and took a few steps back toward the ineffective barricade.

"Will do, kid."

He didn't look back at Raven as he strode back into the city. He passed the manor once more and took a moment to get a good look at the surroundings. Four guards, all Imperial Knights, wearing the pink and purple of the Cumore Brigade. If they saw the party, they could recognize them. That would spell trouble.

The urge to act now sat heavy in him. At the same time, though, the imperial princess had expressed an interest in what was happening in this town. Could this problem be solved by her actions instead of his own? He wanted to rush headlong and do what he did best, his preferred method of dealing with people like this Ragou, but there was one thing stopping him. If it were him and him alone here, there would be no problem. That stupid blond knight wasn't rubbing off on him. He wasn't hesitating because he believed that there might be another way. His method had never failed him before and he had never doubted taking the law into his own hands. He wasn't doubting it now. Maybe he just wanted to see what road the princess and her knight would take before going further down his own. He had decided long ago what his path was and he had never faltered or doubted. It was what had to be done.

But as he walked back to the inn, Repede in tow, he thought that maybe there was another way.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Notes: I hate spoiling things in the A/N, so I don't usually have a lot to say here, even though I managed to slip some legitimately disturbing stuff from the game in here. See if you can spot it (hint: it's an item). Also, if you saw my initial tumblr post regarding the posting of this fic and read the tags, just so you know IT BEGINS.

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

"What are you doing, Karol?" Estellise peeked over the table to where the boy sat with a knife, peeling chunks of wood away from a block that was quickly developing into a form.

"Just a little wood carving. It's something Yuri taught me."

She smiled. Flynn had never seen her look so genuinely happy. "You and Yuri sure are close."

"Yuri's like my big brother. He can come off as cold and uncaring, but he's really cool and people in Dahngrest really like him."

"Really?"

"Yeah! He's the strongest person I know and he's always up for helping others. He knows so much really great stuff."

The boy's hero worship seemed incredibly misguided to him. Okay. Yuri was strong and good in a fight, he would give him that. And he had been helpful, but not without coercion. The way the Karol spoke of Yuri and the way that Yuri described Karol didn't match. There was the sense of a stronger relationship between them, of well founded trust and long standing friendship. It was nothing like what Yuri told him in Halure, that Karol was just some kid from Dahngrest who followed him around. There was much more here.

"How did he get so strong?" Estellise curiously continued their back and forth.

"I guess he's always been that way. When he was a kid, he lived in Zaphias in the Lower Quarter, but the Empire didn't care about him or anyone else down there. So instead of staying, he fought his way to Dahngrest all by himself and now he works for the strongest guild in the Union!"

Flynn took a moment to process that. The tale seemed farfetched at best, probably bits of truth stretched to impress a child. Even if he had once lived in Zaphias and had been an imperial citizen, he had defected to Dahngrest and sworn his allegiance to the Union. He was the enemy now. The idea that he held such a lofty place in the eyes of a child bothered Flynn to no end. This was a man who was a criminal and didn't deny it, and yet, in this child's vision, he was somehow a hero, someone to be admired, someone to aspire to be. He wasn't any of those things.

"What do you think, Rita?"

The mage didn't even look up from her book. "He's strong and all, but strength isn't everything."

As their conversation continued, Flynn could hear the bathroom door open in the adjoining room and then close. Slick, bare feet padded across the wooden floor and he slipped out unnoticed to follow them.

He opened the door to Yuri in his shirt and pants only, using a fluffy, white towel to dry his long hair. The man looked back at him for a moment from over his shoulder before throwing the towel into a nearby chair. Flynn took a step in, stopping briefly in a small puddle on the floor where the man's hair had dripped.

"That was an awfully long shower."

"If you hadn't noticed, I have a lot of hair to wash." He flopped down in the same chair, leaning back and crossing his legs.

"I might be satisfied with that answer if your clothes didn't have patches of rain still on them."

"I took a little detour around town." The smirk he wore was a challenge. It was like he was telling Flynn that he could have easily escaped and, for whatever reason, had not. "I heard some really interesting rumors about the magistrate."

Flynn felt that it was strange that the guildsman was so forthcoming about sneaking off. He had probably gone to meet with one of his operatives. The plans they might have conspired to hatch regarding his escape, or worse, the possible attack on the capital while it was at its weakest, could prove dire. As the heat of anger rose in him, he grabbed Yuri by the collar, hoisting him out of the chair. This method of threat hadn't proven terribly efficient before, but had managed to get them into a fist fight. "If you try to escape-"

"I told you before. I won't escape. I was just scoping the place out." He grabbed Flynn's wrist and squeezed with enough pressure to cause Flynn to drop him roughly back in the chair. "See, your problem is that you see the whole world as if it's black and white. You put labels on everything."

"What are you talking about?

"Estelle for example. Her label is 'Princess'. And because of that label, you think she needs constant care and protection."

"She is naive and-"

"Maybe you haven't realized it, but she doesn't need your protection. It surprised me at first, too, but she's pretty tough. And all things considered, she's been handling the situation pretty well."

"She is still the princess and I-"

"Am a dutiful knight. Got it. But maybe you should take a harder look at people before you judge them based on their labels." Yuri's charcoal eyes stared up at him, fiery and intense and Flynn was incredibly put off by the strange sensation tingling at the end of his spine as he was trapped in that gaze. He spoke and Flynn only barely caught the words in his distraction. "Guildsman. Criminal. Enemy."

"What?"

"The labels you use for me. Am I right?" He acted as if the air between them hadn't grown intensely heavy and the room didn't suddenly feel too small for the two of them. Why was the presence of this person suddenly so disorienting? Yuri's eyes shifted down and he closed them as he yawned. "So. Do you want to know what I found out or not?"

"Yes."

He rolled easily out of the chair and passed Flynn. "Suppose we should let everyone else in on it, too."

Nearly stumbling, his mind trying to force his body to perform the actions that it didn't seem to want to, Flynn followed back to the small common room where the others were still chatting. They sat at the table and Yuri recounted the information that he had received from the locals. Missing people, strange, unseasonal weather, the mysterious object moved by knights into the magistrate's mansion, and the tax hikes. These did not seemed to be the end of the problems. Estellise's mind was set on their next course of action.

"We should go talk to him and figure out what's going on here."

"Agreed. It's not like we can get to Tolbyccia without taking a boat from here. It would be days of back tracking and that's not really time we've got that we can waste." Even while they were trying to lay low and get to Dahngrest quickly, Flynn was still interested in finding out exactly what was going on in this town.

"There's a good chance that he's not going to want to talk to us. Then what?" Yuri asked.

Estellise pondered quietly a moment.

"We could blast our way in," Rita added, her interest piqued over the idea of getting to examine a blastia.

"Too risky. The place is crawling with knights."

"We'll try to talk to him before we make any rash actions. If he refuses to speak with us, then we'll figure out something else." She looked to Flynn and Yuri. "Is that acceptable?"

"If that's what you want to do."

"It is."

Flynn begrudgingly agreed also. He didn't like how much Yuri was influencing her, but rather than argue, he remained silent for now. She had made a decision and her power was greater than his. He would follow the orders he received. She had good intentions, but he was afraid that they were going to become twisted by Yuri.

Either way, there was definitely something strange going on in this town.

* * *

He wondered what exactly Estelle's plan was. Was she hoping that her influence as an imperial princess would grant her access to the magistrate and that he might listen to her? If Yuri knew anything, it was that, once backed into a corner, someone as supposedly crooked as this magistrate, was capable of anything. He would follow along with her plan though, even if the conditions and repercussions might not be ideal.

This wasn't going to be an easy process.

"The magistrate is not seeing guests today."

"But we need to speak with him." Yuri knew that Estelle's attempt to reason with the guards wasn't going to go anywhere. They were lucky they hadn't been recognized and arrested immediately.

"If you don't leave the premises immediately, we will take you into custody."

"But-"

Yuri cut her off, placing a hand on her shoulder. She turned quickly to look at him and he made a small backwards motion with his head. They would have to do this the hard way, not that he minded. Heavy handed discussions like the one that would have followed this were not something he wanted to put up with when they had never proven effective before.

They turned and walked a little ways down the cobblestone path until they were out of sight.

"Now what do we do?"

"We lure them away from the building, take care of them, and move in that way."

Flynn frowned. Of course, he noticed all of the potential problems with this direct plan.

"If that's the only way."

"We just need a distraction of some sort."

Repede took that as his signal and trotted forward, looking back at Yuri and wuffing. When he received a nod, he continued up the path in a full run, barking wildly. The commotion got the knights' attention easily and they chased Repede, shouting, right down the way and into an ambush. Rita scattered their formation with a fireball and, once separated, Yuri and the others easily picked them off.

He and Flynn stashed their unconscious bodies in a row of bushes and then headed for the door once more. Repede sniffed around for a few moments, leading them from the front door, through the uselessly ornate gardens, and to the side of the house that looked out to the ocean. There were no lower level windows and the upper level ones were barred over. If that wasn't suspicious, he didn't know what was. On the lower level of the house, they found a door that led to a mechanical lift. Upon further examination, he found that the controls only seemed to allow the lift to go down. It was better than nothing, though.

"Looks like this is our way in." He stepped in first, examining the controls. Regretfully, he didn't have much of a mechanical aptitude.

Rita squeezed between him and the control panel. With a few buttons, the lift shuddered and began its descent. It was slow, but after a few moments, it stopped abruptly in what he assumed was the basement. The doors opened with a similar stuttering to a dark room, with only the little illumination from the lift to light the way.

The air here was heavy and full of a scent that he knew all too well. It didn't take him any time to figure out what had probably happened to the missing people. He had really suspected all along. Repede growled at his side, alerting him to the dozens of eyes shining out of the darkness at them. He drew his sword, sliding a little ahead of the others and moving fluidly into a fighting stance.

"Rita, can we get some lights in here?"

"Don't rush me!" She fiddled with the panel some more, obviously having seen the myriad of eyes.

Repede barked, rushing forward. His eyes allowed him the ability to fight in these conditions. Growls and barks and yelps and snarls betrayed to Yuri bits of the on-going fight. He had no need to worry. The warrior dog was more than holding his own.

When the lights remained unlit after a moment, he pressed forward also, in spite of the others. His eyes had acclimated enough to allow him to see shapes in the shadows and Repede's familiar barks alerted him to his own position and the positions of the monsters before him. Darkness be damned, he was going to fight anyway. He didn't let it hinder him. He still moved smoothly from one motion to the next, his sword slicing through one enemy after another. He closed his useless eyes and listened to Repede for how to place each movement. He had fought in conditions worse than these.

Finally the lights flickered on uneasily, their garish yellow light stinging his eyes as he opened them, and revealed a scene he almost would rather not have seen at all.

Littering the stone floor were the bodies of numerous monsters, wolves and basilisks, and skeletal remains, bones picked clean and bodies ravaged. They were unmistakably human remains.

He looked back to the others, who stood there in shock. Flynn was angry, but tight lipped. Estelle stared down in horror, her green eyes wide and watery, with one hand clamped over her mouth. Rita stared down and away, and Karol was looking over the scene with a horrified shock similar to Estelle's

"Who... who would do such a thing?" Estelle asked, fighting to maintain her calm.

"My guess is the magistrate."

"We have no real conclusive evidence-" Flynn started to snap.

"Because this isn't evidence enough for you?" Yuri didn't look over at him or his anger would have been plain to see. Rather than continue on what would have been a disturbing tirade on the disillusioned knight, he examined the fallen monsters.

He shoved the body of a wolf aside with his foot and found something gold glittering against its half torn open and bloodied neck. He knelt, and among the blood matted, greasy fur, he found a thick gold chain from which hung a large key. His blood boiled in thinking what kind of sick game this person was playing.

He yanked the chain and the soft metal snapped easily. He stood and let the bloody key dangle from the remainder of the chain between his fingers. "We're probably going to need this to get out of here."

The knight saw the key and looked only further disgusted. He obviously knew what was going on here. Even someone as hard headed as Flynn couldn't ignore evidence like this. Yuri ignored this. They needed to keep moving forward.

There were two doors, one along the far wall and one along the left. He tried to think about the possible layout of the building above, but the basement could be vastly different. Even so, inward seemed like the logical choice, so he moved to the door on the far wall. He pushed the question of where the large, black stain of blood on it came from to the back of his mind, and opened the door. The key must have been for a room further in. The others followed and they moved a few rooms into the basement, fighting the numerous, blood thirsty monsters that charged recklessly at them, hungry for another taste of human flesh.

This place was a maze, but Repede picked up a scent and was leading them onward to what Yuri was certain would be the way to the main manor.

They entered a room and were not immediately attacked, which surprised him. A group of four wolves was crowded into a corner, bearing down on something. A small gasp between their growls got his adrenaline pumping again.

Repede heard it, too, and charged them, barking angrily. The wolves turned and started to bear against the dog, but he took one of them out before Yuri could get over to help.

The defeat of the monsters revealed what they had been stalking. A small child, maybe five or six, huddled in the corner next to the mangled body of a man. He looked over to them, his eyes wide and hollow, before turning back to shaking the body beside him with a single tiny hand.

Yuri crouched down and examined the boy. He looked unharmed save a few scratches and bruises, but Estelle easily fixed that with her healing artes.

"Are you Pauly?" she asked, placing her hands gently on his small shoulders.

The boy nodded, but remained silent. Yuri guessed that he was probably catatonic from the shock. It wouldn't surprise him. He passed care of the child to Estelle as he moved to check out the body of the man. The wedding ring on his finger matched the one the woman they met earlier had been wearing. He pulled it from the man's cold fingers and pressed it into the boy's hand.

"We're going to get you out of here. Don't worry. Be sure to give this to your mom, okay?"

Pauly nodded again, looking at the ring in his hand for a moment before curling his small, pudgy fingers around it tightly.

"Repede."

The dog trotted up and licked the child's face.

"Get him out of here and back to his mother. Catch up with us as soon as possible." Yuri lifted the child and placed him sitting on the dog's back. "Hold on tight. Repede'll take good care of you."

The boy leaned into Repede, wrapping his arms around the dog's neck.

Repede wuffed and then ran off in the direction of the lift.

"Yuri..."

"Let's find the way upstairs. I'm ready to have a talk with this magistrate." His anger turned ice cold. He had felt this way numerous times before, and when it came over him, it was a powerful sensation that quickened his step and sharpened his blade and focus. He didn't like it, but he had long since learned to live with it. His choices had put him here. As angry as he was though, he had to be careful not to lose himself here.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Notes: Half of the time in these author's notes, I have no idea what to say. I'm sorry.

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

Even though he maintained his calm and cool exterior, Flynn could tell that beneath his pale skin, Yuri's blood was raging. He wasn't sure how he knew. Perhaps it was the way his eyes narrowed and darkened and lacked his normal sarcasm and humor. The sharp efficiency of his blade did not look much different, but Flynn could tell that he was no longer in the fight, but a million miles beyond it, the bodies of his enemies already fallen before him. There was no thrill in the fight that he usually had.

They shared anger, but the difference between their emotions was so different. While both internalized, Flynn's burned white hot with the desire to bring this man to justice. Yuri's was ice cold with the need for revenge. Or at least he assumed.

What he knew of the justice system in Dahngrest was that it was far from the fairness of the Empire. It was founded on and encouraged revenge. There was boundless vigilante justice. It was a ruthless, lawless place.

The scenes in the next few rooms were less horrifying, mostly because it seemed as though not many of the people who were held here made it very far. After a while, they reached a door with a wolf head carved into it. The key Yuri had collected opened the blood-rusted lock and allowed them entry to a room that was larger than the others, with a series of thick metal bars across the center, blocking them from the set of stairs across the room that led up. This was meant to be a dungeon of horrors. As they stepped forward a buzz sounded throughout the room.

"What was that?"

"An alarm system."

Repede's bark echoed from the rooms they had previously traveled and he bolted in, straight to Yuri's side just as the wolf head door slammed shut and locked.

"Good job." Yuri smiled down at his partner and then lifted his gaze to a more present threat.

Down the stairs came a thin man with graying hair, wearing dark, ornate robes that Flynn knew were typical of members of the Imperial Council. He approached them, his hands folded behind his back and a long, thin smile across his face.

"Well, well. What have we here?"

"You must be Ragou." Yuri's voice was sharp as he spoke.

"Frankly, I'm surprised that you made it this far. No one else has."

"The crimes that you have perpetrated here are unforgivable, Ragou!" Estellise stepped forward, pointing at the magistrate.

"What an interesting bunch of rats I've caught in my trap. A mage, some riffraff, a mongrel, the Scifo Boy, and our dear Princess Estellise. Pity you'll all have to die here."

"Why would you do this? Such horrors committed against your own people! What could you possibly accomplish by doing these things?" Flynn wanted to take the Magistrate into custody, but with circumstances as they were, he could not.

"The Empire is changing, boy. These people were useless to me. And we no longer have need for the idealistic knights like yourself and your father. We are moving forward into a new age and you are outdated." He turned his back to them. "Surrender the princess and I will allow you to live."

"Like that'll ever happen!" Yuri shouted before he could, his hand gripped tightly on the cell bars before him.

"I see. It's a pity that I don't have time to play with you myself. Looks like I'll have to leave you to play with my beloved Rhybgaro for now."

Above them, that buzzer rang again, nearly deafening this time.

A huge door opened beside where they had entered and a thunder of hoof beats followed. The room shook with a mighty tremor as a huge, golden horned beast crashed in. It paused only long enough for them to get a good glimpse of it before it charged at them, head and horn lowered for the most effective attack.

They scattered, sending the Rhybgaro straight into the prison bars. It stumbled, disoriented as its full weight hit the bars, and it tried to get back up on its ungainly long legs. As he readied for battle, Flynn could see out of the corner of his eye Ragou head back up the stairs he had come down. With the way blocked, they could not follow. As the Rhybgaro circled back to charge them again, they scattered once more, sending it into the bars again. The dent the creature left this time was sizable, bending the bars, and the smirk on Yuri's face told him that they were thinking the same thing.

"One more time should do it."

They regrouped and waited for the monster to do the same. It paced frantically, eyeing them, snorting and whinnying. It was afraid of them. Maybe it hadn't been after them at all, so much as Ragou or even attempting escape.

"Wait." Flynn lowered his sword. "I think it's scared of us."

"What?"

"I don't think it's attacking us. I think it just wants to escape." He sheathed his sword and held up both his hands in front of him to show the beast that he was unarmed. He took a step forward, stopping briefly before taking another.

It snorted at him and stared him down but didn't move. Those golden eyes shone with fear. A few more steps and he was able to get a better look at it. The monster was covered in bruises and lacerations. It was malnourished and missing patches of fur. He had noticed before that it favored one of its front legs over the other, and the markings on its horn told of earlier attempts at escape that surely failed. It stomped nervously as he made his approach further.

"Lady Estellise, would you come heal it? It's pretty badly injured." He maintained eye contact with the Rhybgaro.

"O-oh, all right." She sheathed her sword as well and followed Flynn's slow style of steps. After a long, tense moment, she got close enough to use her healing artes.

It reared and whinnied in fright. Flynn slid between her and the Rhybgaro to shield her, but it calmed soon after. It pawed the ground, turning its eyes to the gate.

"Move out of the way."

Yuri, Karol, Rita, and Repede moved quickly to the adjacent wall and just as they cleared the gate, the Rhybgaro charged.

Now healthy, it put all of its strength into it and the bars came crashing down. It looked back at them briefly before continuing its escape though a hole it tore in one of the walls.

"That was... interesting. But we need to catch up with Ragou. We can't let him escape."

They rushed up the stairs where Ragou had gone before them. The long, dark stairway took them high into the mansion and that was confirmed when the path opened out onto a balcony, overlooking a lower floor, a bridge connecting this platform to another. On the opposite side of the platform was a towering machine that nearly reached the high ceiling. Somehow it looked familiar to Flynn, but he couldn't place it. It pulsed and glowed red and hummed as its gears turned.

Rita rushed over to it, yards between them before they were able to follow and she opened the blastia control panel in a flash.

"Rita, wait!"

"It_ is_ a blastia!" Her eyes scanned the data carefully and she stroked her chin. "It's a lot like the barrier at Ehmead Hill. It's just a jumbled mess of formula that's somehow working."

"Could this be what's causing the strange weather?"

"Blastia can't control the weather... normally. If I just..." She tapped a few of the glyph symbols and the machine sputtered. The humming ceased as the gears ground to a halt.

From the one window on the left hand wall, they could see the storm clouds rapidly dissipate.

"So it was affecting the weather. But how?"

"What are you doing to my machine?! How did you escape the Rhybgaro?!" Ragou shouted from where he had been hidden near another set of stairs.

"We're shutting you down, you monster." Yuri turned, sword at the ready and his charcoal eyes ice cold.

"Guards!"

Knights of the Cumore Brigade filed in. Yuri easily turned his fury on them, his dog partner following suit. Rita kept by the machine in her examination, with Karol and Estelle acting as back up. Flynn also turned his blade against his fellow knights. Right now, he had an important job and he couldn't let his own comrades get in his way.

Wave after wave of them attacked. Why were so many knights here and why were they protecting someone who was obviously doing sinister things and breaking the law? Was Cumore in on this, too? And possibly Alexei? Why were they defending a man that Flynn felt so sure was responsible for the near genocide of this town? And he was just standing there smugly.

The battle had all of his focus until he heard a loud crash and Rita's shout as a shower of glass rained down on them. He turned just in time to see a figure wearing strange, angular white armor on the back of a dragon like creature enter through the now shattered window. The creature let out a terrifying shriek, sending Rita stumbling back from the machine. An orange glow in its mouth quickly became a ball of flame.

"What are you doing, you dragon freak?!"

More confused shouting followed, but he only caught bits and pieces while fending off attacks from the knights.

The dragon fired the ball at Rita, narrowly missing and hitting the machine instead. It burst into flames, its power source rupturing from the intensity of the heat and sending the mage skidding back further, until she was nearly back to back with Estellise. She was on her feet in a flash though, shouting and swearing and returning fire even as Estellise was checking on her and trying to keep her away from the growing blaze. The beast and its rider looked at her in disinterest as they circled the room once and then flew back out the window.

The fire blazed, consuming every useless tapestry and wooden molding in its path as it grew. When Rita managed to put it out using her water based artes, it was too late. The damage to the blastia had been done. There were bigger problems now though.

"Hurry up! Ragou's getting away!" Yuri felled the last of the knights, knocking him out with a clean blow to his helmet and turned in a full run to follow Repede. The dog was nearly on the escaping magistrate's heals.

Flynn rallied the others quickly and they followed.

The exit on the balcony past the machine brought them outside, to a long pier, where a small ship was quickly pulling away with Ragou and a few other men aboard. Yuri and Repede were in mid leap onto the boat before the others reached the end of the pier to follow. They scrambled to make the jump as well and in the end, Yuri and Repede had to pull Karol aboard when he missed the deck by a foot and was left clinging to the port side railing.

The fight from a moment earlier was not over yet as they were besieged by mercenaries instead of knights. Flynn had no hesitation in fighting this enemy, and where he expected to see Yuri falter against these who were probably of the Union, his graceful ferocity

had not ebbed in the slightest.

"What's goin' on out 'ere?" A thunderous voice from the cabin was followed by the appearance of a large, stocky man, whose most startling feature was the head of a mace affixed to his left arm in place of a hand. He was an imposing figure to say the least. He looked down over them as if they were nothing but a passing nuisance, but for a fleeting second, he stared Yuri down with the barest trace of concern on his face. In return, Yuri's anger seemed fresh once more and his grip on his sword tightened until his knuckles turned white. "So yer the worms Ragou's running from? Pitiful. Zagi!"

"What is it? Who do I get to kill now?"

The blond and magenta haired assassin slid from around the outer wall of the cabin, confident and lithe.

"Kill 'em. All of 'em."

Zagi didn't question, only brandished his blades, a wicked and wild, toothy grin spreading across his face. "Why if it isn't my favorite playmate, Flynn Scifo!"

Flynn barely had time to raise his blade before Zagi was on him, lashing out wildly. The assassin's blades moved in such a frenzy that Flynn was struggling to defend himself, much less make an attack of his own. Most of the injuries that he received from the whirl of blades were minor, but stung and as their numbers mounted, he was growing worried. He was being toyed with and at any time now, Zagi would switch to a more devastating attack. He could only hope that he gave him an opening then.

But Karol did that for him, attempting to bring his giant sword down on Zagi's head. The assassin rolled out of the way, giving Flynn time to get his footing and take the opportunity to attack. Zagi parried with one knife, but the other moved in to strike.

"It's been fun, Flynn Scifo, but now you die!"

"Guys like you never learn!" Yuri charged, dropping his shoulder and ramming into the knife wielding maniac.

Zagi was thrown back and flipped backward over the starboard side railing and

into the water.

"Thanks."

"Whatever." Yuri shrugged it off. "I was just tired of looking at his ugly mug."

"Can't you just accept a simple thank-"

"No time!"

Zagi leapt out of the water with a splash, sopping wet and his face red with anger. "You'll pay for that with your life!" He spun at them to attack once more, faster than last time, swinging and screaming. They each caught one of his knives, and he pressed down on them in the parry, hoping for them to lose their footing or slip up. "Why are you getting in my way, Yuri?!"

"Cause I feel like it!"

"You should understand, Yuri! You and I are the same!"

"I am nothing like you, Zagi!" Yuri shifted his weight onto one leg and lifted the other. He kicked the assassin square in the knee as hard as he could. There was a loud snap and Zagi crumpled slightly, cringing, the block weakening, but Yuri wasn't done yet. He pulled back his sword, risking getting sliced by the still falling blades. He moved swiftly, twisting to avoid the knife, and slamming his right hand into the center of Zagi's chest.

The force threw the assassin back and into the door of the ship's cabin. He slumped against the deck with a groan. He struggled to stand for a moment, fumbling like a wounded animal before he started laughing in a way that was unsettling.

"Ragou's escaping!" Estellise shouted from the starboard side, pointing to a skiff bobbing in the waves that carried Ragou, the towering man, and a smattering of mercenaries.

"Fuck!"

Zagi had merely been a distraction and he drew their attention once more. "I won't let you win that easily!" In place of his knife, he now held a flaming torch. Without any hesitation, he dropped it easily on the stair railing and after only a few seconds it was ablaze.

Flynn's gaze darted around frantically. There were no lifeboats and they were too far from Nor Harbor to even swim there without getting attacked by whatever could be lurking in the waters. They were trapped like rats on a flaming ship. As the flames spread, there came a loud pop, followed by the gushing of water that told him the hull had cracked from the heat and pressure and that they were now trapped on a sinking, flaming ship.

Yuri swore again, grabbing some rope from a cubbyhole nearby and tossing it to Flynn. "Get the girls tied up and yourself, too." He pushed a couple of barrels overboard and tossed a line to Karol. "Get Repede and yourself."

"But Yuri-

"I'm right behind you. Just jump in and swim to the barrels."

Flynn mutely did as he was ordered, knotting a single length of rope around both Rita and Estellise, and then himself, allowing a yard or so of slack between each of them.

Yuri dashed by, heading for the flaming cabin.

Flynn shouted after him. It was crazy, but Yuri had already disappeared amid the blaze. There was no time to waste as the flames grew hotter and larger. Karol and Repede mounted the railing on the starboard side and jumped in together. After surfacing, they drug themselves to the floating barrels. Yuri still had not returned.

"Go on. I'm going back for him." Flynn picked apart the knot around himself as fast as he could, driven by a strange feeling that he couldn't recognize that formed a hard knot in his throat. Could he really be worried for this person? Breaking loose, he allowed the girls to jump while he rushed to where Yuri had disappeared.

It was too hot for him to make it through to the cabin and he saw no sight of Yuri or the assassin Zagi.

"I told you to get out of here!"

He looked up to see Yuri at the wheel, steering the ship to the port side away from the others. He was unharmed and landed easily on the deck, grabbing Flynn by the back of his shirt.

"I wasn't leaving without you."

"Idiot!" Yuri pushed him hard to the edge of the ship.

Flynn jumped of his own accord, as the flames engulfed the last of the ship, and he heard Yuri's feet leave the deck behind him. He splashed down in the water and gasped for air a second too late. He struggled to swim, but all his limbs felt so heavy suddenly and just beyond the curtain of water, he could see the burning ship explode and above that, the hot yellow sun. Darkness crept over him as his lungs burned to breathe. When he could hold his breath no longer, a stream of bubbles erupted from him, air leaving him and cold, salty seawater replacing it in his lungs.

Just above him was a dark spot, blocking out the light of the sun. It grew closer and closer and he staved off the darkness that was choking the life out of him.

Whatever it was, it was too late.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Notes: At some point later on in the fic, I'm going to put together a tumblr post with all the hilarious and horrifying chapter descriptions I made up for these.

Tales of Namco Bandai.

* * *

After all his hard work, he still didn't want to take a break. There was a monster on the loose, and while he was ready to be after it, the others needed some time to recuperate after their ordeal.

He sat on the sandy shore, letting the dawn's warm light dry his wet clothing on his back. Rita and Estelle had wandered off behind some bushes to wring out theirs and Karol and Repede had run on ahead to scout out the area. He was left sitting there with a half drowned idiot, who still lay unconscious in the sand.

Yuri ached, but he didn't mind the rope burns that ringed his chest, red and raw and still stinging with sea water. They would just be another set of scars to remind him of his experiences. He had swam all night, driven by the safety of his motley crew of comrades and the frozen anger that had ebbed a little since their untimely dip in the ocean, but still remained. He certainly had a lot to tell Gramps about when they made it to Dahngrest. As of now, they were a little more than halfway there, provided the current of the ocean hadn't swept them too far down the coasts of Tolbyccia.

A groan from beside him tore him out of his thoughts and he tilted his head down, letting his wet hair slide across one of his shoulders as he looked to the stirring blond. "Morning."

Flynn groaned again, pulling his no doubt heavy body out of the sand and sitting up. He rubbed his forehead and pushed his short, damp hair out of his face. It took him a moment to get his bearings. "Lady Estellise!" He tried to scramble to his feet, but was hindered by the soft, white sand.

"Relax. Estelle's fine. She and Rita went to dry off."

He sunk back into the sand like a heavy weight was dragging him down and let out a sigh of relief. "Is everyone all right?"

"We all made it here in one piece."

He started to ask another question, but it was drowned out by the ruckus Karol and Repede were making on their way back down the shore line.

"Yuri! Yuri!"

"What's up, Karol?"

"We got lucky! We're only a few miles from Capua Torim!"

"Good job." He smiled broadly, ruffling the boy's brown hair. They probably needed to stop and rest for the night, but Torim Harbor wasn't the ideal place to do that. It was all they had for now, though.

Estelle and Rita emerged from the bushes a little ways down the shore, their clothing still damp and wrinkled from wringing the water out of it.

"Flynn, you're awake!"

"Yes. Thank you for your concern, Lady Estellise."

"I was so worried when you almost drowned. But Yuri, he-"

"We should get going. Karol says we're close to Torim Harbor. We can get a proper meal and some rest before moving on."

"Oh. Okay."

He took the lead and she walked along side of him, asking if he was really all right. He always replied that he was fine. In spite of her regal upbringing, she was much more caring than he would have expected. While indecisive at times and incredibly naive, she was slowly and surely learning to make choices for and defend herself. Her dutiful knight and his labels seemed to try to hinder that, but once a person has had a taste of freedom, they want nothing else.

That thought reminded him of his own figurative shackles. He was 'free' for now, but he knew that Flynn was keeping him on a short leash. He was only allowing him this much freedom because he was cooperating.

"I'm sorry, Yuri." Her head was bowed low, staring at the grass as they hiked up a hill.

"Hm?" He glanced over curiously.

"I still don't know what I can offer you in exchange for your help. You've done so much for us."

He knew as well as she did that she was in no position to promise him his release. "That's fine. We're still a few days from Dahngrest. You've got some time to think about it." At least she was trying to cooperate with him as well. He appreciated that, when realistically, she could simply use her power to try and push him around like the knight seemed fond of doing.

Estelle didn't act much like a princess. Her occasional regal and authoritative bursts put him off guard, but most of the time, she was friendly and sincere, helpful and knowledgeable in spite of her naivete. Even though he was a criminal, a guildsman, and the enemy, she treated him with the same sisterly respect that she gave the others, and nearly everyone else that she met. It often left him wondering where the Empire had managed to find a princess like this.

It was less than an hour to Capua Torim and unlike its sister city, its atmosphere hadn't changed much. He still didn't like it here, though. The weather was nicer, but it only made the rundown look of the city more apparent. The barricaded entrance offered little resistance as he bribed the knight there for entry and they were allowed access to the city of filthy streets and dilapidated buildings.

"What happened here?" Estelle asked.

"Oh, all this?"

"Yes. I thought that Capua Torim was supposed to be a beautiful, lively place."

"That was true a few years ago." He lead them through the lifeless market, filled with overpriced fruit, fish, and healing items. Knights dotted the street corners and he waited until they were past to explain. "It's been like this since the war started. Once the Empire declared war against the Union, this city went under military occupation and they kicked out Fortune's Market."

"Fortune's Market?"

Karol answered for him. "Fortune's Market is one of the five Master Guilds that make up the Union. Their headquarters was here. They were the largest supplier of goods in Terca Lumireis."

"Yep. They shut down the warehouses and trade routes and burnt down the guild leader, Kaufman's, home. Since then, trade has all but dried up in this town."

"That's awful."

"Wait. That's not true. The Union declared war on the Empire at the Battle of Heliord. This is common knowledge," Flynn interrupted.

"Oh yes. Because everything that the Empire says is without a doubt the truth." Yuri barely contained the hiss in his voice as he glared at the blond. This knight's blind devotion grated on his nerves and brought the anger that had been driving him up to the surface once more.

Flynn stiffened, muscles tensing with a similar rage and he reached out to grab Yuri. Estelle stopped him, placing herself between them.

"We don't have time to fight. The most important thing right now is that we work together."

"Give it up, Estellise." Rita butted in. "They're both stubborn idiots."

Yuri pulled back first, putting a few yards distance between himself and the blond. It wasn't that he wasn't up for another brawl, because he was itching to show Flynn how he felt the best way he knew how, but Estelle was right. They needed to get to Dahngrest. He didn't care about the Empire itself, but the innocent people who could be harmed as a result of whatever Alexei was doing were defenseless and if their leaders were not going to help them, then who would? These obedient and disillusioned knights? Not likely.

"Let's just get to the inn. I'm ready for a nap."

The rest of the walk was silent in spite of the mounting tensions between Flynn and himself. The innkeeper informed them that there was only one vacant room at a staggering sum, but Yuri paid without complaint. There was little else they could do right now.

"Rita, Estelle. You two can share a bed. Karol, you take the other one." Flynn didn't disagree, but he hadn't expected him to.

Yuri threw his pack into a vacant corner after pulling out his blanket.

"You should really take one of the beds, Yuri. You must be so tired after everything that happened."

"I'll be fine on the floor. I've slept in worse places." He flopped down and Repede joined him.

"That can't be comfortable. Please, I insist." Even Estelle's urging wouldn't budge him once he made up his mind.

"I said don't worry about it."

"Watch your tone." Flynn was quick to counter his rather toneless comment.

Yuri looked up at him from the floor. He was in no mood to deal with this. "All I said was for her not to worry about it."

"The tone you took was uncalled for. Your whole attitude is disrespectful and need I remind you that you are in no position to act as such?"

He wanted to let it go and just roll over and nap against his partner, but the rage that still burned just below his skin froze him in place, staring up at that idiot knight who would so easily find any fault and ferret it out as if he were perfect. He had never met any one person who was so aggravating. "Oh yeah? Well, I don't think you're in much of a position to be treating me like this. After all, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have even made it out of the castle."

Flynn's every muscle tightened again.

"If you think I'm going to take this shit from some impotent knight, you have another thing coming."

"Yuri!"

Before Estelle could chastise them further, Flynn was pulling him up off the wooden floor and he was fighting back. He had baited him on purpose, hoping to start a fight. A few punches between them would get the tension across and make their feelings for each other and this whole nonsense very painfully clear. Yuri ripped himself out of Flynn's grasp and before either could throw a punch, Repede stopped them just as he had last time.

It only caused the tension between them to worsen.

He straightened himself up and moved to the door of their tiny room. "I'm going for a walk."

Flynn stomped after him, but Estelle stopped him.

He didn't wait to hear what was said and paused only briefly enough to allow Repede to catch up with him. They left the inn and walked down the stone stairs before all the anger that burned inside of him begged for release. He turned swiftly and punched a sizable hole in the brick of the inn staircase. The anger melted and ebbed back and he breathed a little sigh as he pulled his bloodied hand back. It stung a little, but it wasn't anything worse than he had dealt with before.

Repede whined at his side.

"Sorry. I'd rather that had been his jaw, but I guess I'll take what I can get."

* * *

As soon as Yuri left the room, his frustration diminished a little and he tried to relax in the presence of the others. Karol was looking at him in shock, but when he noticed that Flynn glanced at him, he busied himself with his carving. Rita bore her usual disinterest, eyes darting over pages of her huge book at record speeds. Estellise however, was not ready to let the incident go.

"Flynn, we need to talk."

"About what, Lady Estellise?" His tone sounded normal with her, unlike when he spoke to Yuri. He wasn't straining to be civil. He was sincere.

She grabbed him by the hand and led him outside of the inn. She cornered him on the stone patio stairs in front of the door. He wasn't used to this behavior, but she obviously had a point that she wanted to get across, and as a knight, he would listen.

"Please, try to be nicer to Yuri."

"Lady Estellise-"

"I know that the two of you don't get along, but after everything that he's done for us, maybe we should try to be a little more thoughtful of him, okay?"

"I know that we were able to escape the capital because of his assistance and make it this far, but that is only because he is hoping for a pardon in exchange."

"He's done more than that and I know that his reasons are more than just that. Maybe he won't admit it, but he really cares about people. I mean, without him, you would have drowned." She folded her hands against her chest and looked down.

"What?"

"He risked his life to save you when you almost drowned. And when we were too tired to swim any longer, he tied our tow lines around himself and drug us all to shore." This information astounded him. Up until that moment, he had believed that they had merely managed to drift ashore. "Maybe he doesn't care about the Empire, but I feel like he really cares about people whether they're with the Union or the Empire. So, can we please try to get along?"

"Y-Yes. I'm sorry." He didn't want to go apologize, but he knew that the dark haired swordsman deserved at least a sincere 'thank you' for saving his life and the life of the princess. His head had cooled considerably in the few moments' time.

"Thank you." She stepped back inside and left him to wander the port side town.

It was much more dreary than he initially thought, and he avoided the eyes of the other knights in case they might recognize him. He hadn't seen any wanted posters hanging around, but he couldn't be too careful at this point. He walked quietly back through the market, avoiding eye contact with the merchants there before heading to the pier. The ocean wouldn't offer him much peace, as small and insignificant as it made him feel, but maybe Yuri had walked down this way.

He knew he was right when he spotted the dark figure at the end of the dock, standing with his partner and staring out across the ocean. He paused before he approached. If Yuri was still in a bad mood, he would wait to speak with him.

Yuri's long black hair billowed in the sea breeze, sweeping across his shoulders and revealing a form that Flynn hadn't realized before seemed so slender. Was this a person who really had enough strength to drag four people and a dog to shore from the middle of a strait all by himself? He knew that the guildsman was a strong fighter. There was no doubt about that.

"You gonna stand there mooning over me or are you actually planning on talking?" Yuri turned, leaning back against one of the pier supports with an easy confidence and a smirk that hid any anger he might have been feeling.

If this person was really as strong as they said, he needed to know for himself, and when he opened his mouth to thank him, something entirely different and unexpected came out.

"I want to fight you."

Yuri's smirked melted into a confused stare and then laughter. "You want to fight me?"

"Yes." Now that he had said it, there was no taking it back.

"Fine. We'll fight tomorrow, then. After we get on the road to Dahngrest. That work for you?"

He nodded. He still wanted to thank him, but the words were lost now. Instead of standing there staring uncomfortably, he turned on his heel and walked back to the inn.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Notes: Fitting some sub events and side quests in was an awful lot of fun and I feel like they helped to flesh out the characters like in the game.

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

Yuri and Repede returned from their outing in time for dinner, which the innkeeper brought them that evening. It was a simple meal, but they ate without complaint. Afterward, Flynn nestled down on the floor in front of the door. Yuri had long since dozed off with Repede across from him, but Flynn waited for Rita and Estellise to both safely return from their baths and for Karol to settle in before he allowed himself to close his eyes.

Sleep didn't come easily and he was left sitting there with his eyes closed. The feel of the cold, salt sea washed over him and he felt breathless as his body relived what had nearly been the final moments of his life. The water pounded in his ears, drowning out all sound and his lungs began to burn from the salt and not breathing. It was suddenly cold and dark and so quiet. The thought that he had been that close to death scared him. His eyes shot open and he gasped for breath. The dark, quiet inn room around him and the warm air in his lungs reassured him that he was in fact alive.

Everything was the same as when he closed his eyes. Estellise and Rita were curled up on one of the beds together, and Karol spread eagle on the other, all in a deep, restful sleep. Yuri and Repede were still laying on the floor across from him.

Flynn sighed a little with relief. He had survived and now he knew two things. He was tiny and insignificant, and death terrified him.

His father Finath died a hero's death and was so recognized by the Empire. He had been a great and honorable man. Flynn hadn't had his chance to make his changes in the world. He had accomplished nothing. He hadn't contributed to the Empire or to his people. Flynn had done nothing and yet death had come so close. Had it not been for Yuri, what would have happened? Would his life's potential have been unfulfilled? He would have been unable to fulfill the promise to his father to do all he could for the Empire. He would have been a failure.

"You still awake?" Yuri sat up, kicking off his blanket.

"Yes."

"Not used to sleeping on a floor, huh?"

"It's not that. I'm just not very tired." He felt like the dark haired man was baiting him again.

Those charcoal eyes seemed to glow in the darkness of the room. "Well, you better get some rest if you want to have any chance of beating me tomorrow."

"If you say so."

Yuri looked over to their sleeping comrades but turned his head quickly back to the door. Just beyond it, a little ways down the hall, they could hear the faintest whispers. Flynn perked up his ears too, as did Repede, who woke rather suddenly, growling low in his throat. One of the voices was that of the innkeeper. He didn't recognize the others and he couldn't recognize what was being said at first.

After a moment of tense straining to hear, he made out a few words. "Wanted... bounty..." A chill of fear came over him, almost worse than only a moment ago when he had relived his near death. They had been found out, and as he looked over to Yuri, he knew that he had heard it and had come to the same conclusion.

The guildsman was on his feet in seconds, stuffing his pack and rousing the others. Flynn followed.

"Hey, Estelle. Rita. Get up. We have to go now." He shook each of them gently which a sort of familiarity that made Flynn uncomfortable.

She roused a little and he leaned down to whisper in her ear, shaking her again. She jumped out of bed, grabbing Rita in the process, who woke slowly and angrily, muttering incantations and formulas. "Come on, Rita. We have to go."

"Why...?"

"We've been found. We need to get out of town."

She grumbled, throwing her pack across her shoulders.

Yuri moved on to Karol, waking him a little more roughly. The boy got up after just a few seconds and got ready to leave while the older guildsman moved to the window. He watched from the side for a moment before sliding it open. Repede hopped up, his front paws on the sill and looking out, too.

After a moment, the dog jumped out of the window, his soft paw pads hitting the alley below quietly. Flynn and the others gathered to watch as the dog paced the alley, up and down before raising his head to Yuri.

"He says that coast is clear. Let's go." Yuri jumped first, landing next to the dog, and waved up to Estellise. "Come on. Jump."

She climbed into the windowsill, looking down nervously.

"I'll catch you." He held his arms up.

Estellise closed her eyes, dropping out of the window and before she knew it, she had landed safely in Yuri's arms. He set her down and extended his arms up for Rita, who ignored them and hit the ground on her own with no problem. Karol followed.

Flynn didn't like the flush of pink that lingered in Estellise's face or the way Yuri interacted with her in such a familiar way. As the bedroom door opened behind him, he had no time to complain and just jumped.

"Let's go. Before they catch up."

And they ran. They wound along old foot paths out of the coast town and into the nearby forest until it was clear they were not being followed.

"Everybody okay?"

A round of exhausted, yawning nods followed.

"Okay. We'll stop here for now. Get some rest. I'll keep watch."

"But, Yuri..." Estellise started to object.

"It's fine. I got plenty of sleep earlier." He sat on a fallen tree, one knee pulled up to his chest.

She didn't protest further. A little while later, she, Rita, and Karol were fast asleep once more. Flynn couldn't sleep though. Try as he might, every time he closed his eyes, that terrifying feeling of being at death's door crept back in and clung to his every already raw and agitated nerve.

"Still can't sleep?" Yuri must have noticed him toss and turn. What sounded like an innocent enough question striped back his patience, bringing his festering fear and pain straight to the surface. If Yuri was good at nothing else, he excelled in knowing just what to say to get on Flynn's last nerve, whether he meant to or not.

"I'm just not tired!" He hadn't meant to snap at him, but for some reason, Yuri elicited reactions from him that no one else did.

Yuri shrugged it off as easily as he did everything else.

Flynn threw off his blanket and took to pacing to try and ease his mind. It wasn't helping.

"If you keep stomping around like that, you'll wake them up." Yuri pulled an apple out of his pack and started snacking on it in such a carefree manner that it only maddened Flynn further. Was he completely unconcerned with everything that had transpired over the past week? Did he not care that half of the Imperial Knights were after them and they were wanted in probably every town from Zaphias to Dahngrest? Did nothing faze him?

"How can you be so calm?!"

"Chill out. There's not a whole lot we can do right now, and stressing yourself out over it isn't helping."

Rather than pace further and risk waking up the younger party members, he sat down on the fallen tree also.

"I'm surprised she's able to sleep so well, seeing as she's the one they're after." He looked over to Flynn. "Why are Alexei and Ragou both interested in her?"

"I-I don't know."

"It has something to do with her healing artes, doesn't it? Because she's not using that blastia she wears when she casts."

How had he noticed? His shocked face surely betrayed the truth.

"And that thing she did back in Halure. That's why they're so interested in her."

He was silent. How should he respond? He didn't really know what her powers completely entailed, but Yuri was right. They were after her and that was probably why.

"Don't worry. She's a good kid. I won't let anything bad happen to her."

This man was suddenly a threat again. "You keep your hands off of her."

"Woah. Take it easy."

"She is pure and innocent and I will not allow you to-"

"Oh. You think that I..." He made a small strangled sound and then broke into laughter that only enraged Flynn further.

"I'm serious. Don't you dare touch her."

"I'm not interested in her."

"What?"

"I assure you that I am no threat to her innocence."

He leaned back, narrowing his eyes and studying the dark haired man.

"I like guys."

Flynn remained silent. Those words moved in one ear and right out of the other. He kept his eyes trained on the man, watching carefully for the slightest trace of mischievousness. In spite of everything, could he believe a word that came out of this man's mouth? Maybe it was just the lingering ache in his limbs and brain wearing on him, making him unduly suspicious and angry.

"Wow. You really don't get it, do you?" Before Flynn could ask what he meant, Yuri leaned forward and pressed his lips against Flynn's and held him in place with a warm, calloused hand on one of Flynn's cheeks, fingers pressing into his flesh.

He was trapped for a long moment, that strange sensation pooling at the end of his spine once more. It rose in his chest like a strange, warm swell, overpowering him. He couldn't move. He couldn't push back. All his thoughts turned hazy and muddled and, even as Yuri pulled away, they failed to collect themselves. His eyes fixed on Yuri's mouth as he licked his lips. What had just happened? Why did his lips feel so hot?

"Wha-"

"That make it clear enough for you?"

"Y-You didn't have to demonstrate." His face felt warm and he turned to keep Yuri from seeing as he rubbed his face in agitation. Suddenly everything that had happened made sense, including the things Yuri had said while he was imprisoned. They had been passes at Flynn and he suddenly felt so uncomfortable that his body forced him to his feet once more. If Yuri was indeed telling the truth, he could at least take solace in the fact that he really wasn't a danger to Estellise's innocence.

Yuri shrugged again. "Sometimes a demonstration is the only way to make things clear. I figured you would have caught on ages ago. I wasn't very subtle back in Zaphias."

Oh gods, he was right. He ran a hand down his face in frustration and embarrassment. How could he have not realized after those cheesy one liners?

"Why did you-"

"It wasn't the first time I've used tactics like that to get myself out of a jam. Although that was the first time it didn't work."

He sighed, tugging a little at his blond hair. No matter how he paced or tried not to think about it, that tingling in his spine remained, settling in in a manner most discomforting. What was this strange feeling and why had it come over him? "I don't understand." He meant that in more than one way.

"It's nothing personal. Just doing what I needed to do."

That nearly set him off once more. What normal person needed to do things like that? What normal person thought nothing of the idea of doing that? "What kind of person does that?"

"Life's not always easy. Sometimes, you have to do what it takes to survive. Thought you would have gotten that by now. Some people get a bad hand in life." He leaned backward against a tree, folding his hands behind his head. "You should really get some sleep. I want to get a decent warm up out of you tomorrow."

He decided to do just that rather than let this man bait him into another argument. He laid back down, trying not to think about the rattling in his brain and the heaviness that was growing in his chest.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Notes: I hate writing fight scenes and this fic happens to have a lot of them. Go figure.

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

Morning couldn't come soon enough. He was much more excited than he had expected over the idea of getting a challenge out of the blond knight who had asked him to fight the day before. He didn't want to underestimate an opponent, but at the same time, he had often watched Flynn's fighting style. It was slow and stiff and relied heavily on defense. That was typical of the knights he had seen and fought against before. He had endurance, though. He could see potential, but something was holding this knight back. He was strong, but something was missing.

It was late afternoon, maybe an hour before sunset when they stopped to make camp at the edge of a meadow before entering the forest once more. They were still two days at least from Dahngrest, and he listened to the the others chat while he prepared dinner with Karol's help. The cream stew would take some time to cook, and while he was fighting Flynn, he could trust Karol to keep an eye on it.

"When do we get to stop again? I'm sick of camping." Rita dropped the firewood she and Estelle had been collecting a few feet from the stew pot and sat down, rubbing her lower back in annoyance.

"Heliord is another day away at least."

"Stopping there is a bad idea."

"What do you mean?" Of course Flynn wanted to question him on that immediately.

"Heliord is crawling with knights. We're better off skipping it completely and just keep heading for Dahngrest." He stirred the pot a final time before standing and brushing himself off.

"But we're low on supplies as it is. We didn't get to stock up in Capua Torim."

"We'll have to make do. As long as we use things sparingly, we should be fine. And we can always cook what we find." Yuri stretched and picked up his sword. He looked over to Flynn. "Are you ready?"

Flynn nodded.

"Wait. What's going on?"

"Flynn wants to duel."

Estelle looked at him in surprised worry.

"It's true."

"Is this really a good idea? I mean, I know you're both strong, but this just seems ill advised."

"It'll be fine. I promise I won't beat him too badly."

The look that crossed Flynn's face was annoyed, but he said nothing. He started off with his sword and shield to a nice clear area in the meadow where they would be far enough from camp to not end up dashing through it, but close enough for them to watch. Yuri followed a few paces behind and when they found a suitable spot, he drew his sword, tossing the scabbard some distance away. He stretched and allowed the knight the opportunity to do the same. Even sitting up as lookout the night before and hiking and fighting monsters had done little to dampen Yuri's energy and enthusiasm. If nothing else, fighting only gave him more energy to fight. He could take down opponent after opponent and never tire. Not many people felt the same. It was a strange paradox, but he didn't question it. To Yuri, whose life was about fighting, it was a blessing.

He took his stance, sliding his right foot forward and his left back. He tossed his sword into the air catching it easily in his left hand and letting it spin momentarily. Maybe he was showing off a little, but he rarely had a chance to use the full extent of his ability, and he had no intentions of holding back here. If Flynn wanted a duel, Yuri was going to give him the fight of his life.

Flynn moved into a stance that was standard among the knights. It was stiff and relied too much on staying in one spot. Yuri's strength was in mobility and he would gladly show the knight how important that was.

"You ready?" He put on his cockiest smirk.

"Yes."

"Good."

Yuri charged, knowing that Flynn was unlikely to make the first move with his usual defensive strategy. He raised his sword to the level of his eye, crossing his sword arm over his body. He was careful not to tense his muscles as he moved forward, zipping across the field.

Flynn hunkered down behind his shield, his own sword low to counter Yuri's attack. As Yuri moved in, he saw this standard tactic and would use that to his advantage. Rather than try to avoid the shield, he aimed for it. He lunged and hit the metal shield with the full force of his blade, and as the knight was sent tumbling back, he moved behind him, shoving him forward with his shoulder. Flynn tried to recover, spinning to counter him and their blades met, sending sparks between them.

Yuri couldn't help but smirk. He was having fun.

The blond pressed forward against him, trying to pin in him place, but Yuri pulled back out of the parry, narrowly dodging the falling blade. He moved forward as Flynn fumbled for a step and punched him three times. Flynn recovered quickly, although winded, and took the offensive.

He swung left and right, but Yuri back flipped out of the way and countered with a stronger hit. He pulled back and then used another. Flynn caught the blade against a shield and struck at Yuri's exposed midsection. The sharpness of the blade scraped him enough to tear through his shirt and vest, and rend flesh. The warmth of the blood on his skin only drove him harder. It had been a while since someone had made him bleed.

Each step he made forward was one that Flynn had to take back. Yuri was a force to reckon with, and he let loose the bonds of moderation that he wore in all other fights. Even if the toughness of his current opponent was not level with his own, this was someone who could handle what Yuri could dish out. He struck out wildly, but never without purpose and the sharpness of his own blade was the same as his focus. He struck without hesitation and waited for Flynn to slip up, to give him an opening in his nearly impenetrable defense. His assault was brutal and relentless and finally his opening came.

Flynn gave him the tiniest opportunity, pausing for less than a second to draw a breath after using an arte. It was opportunity enough for him. With one hand, he pushed Flynn backward, giving him enough space to maneuver. Flynn didn't have a chance to react as Yuri dropped low, and swung his sword up.

He didn't let up. He spun once, twice, letting go of his sword mid air to make the most of his motions, using his fist and feet in places where he felt they were more appropriate. These movements threw Flynn only further off kilter and Yuri was relentless in his attack.

With one last slash, he threw the blond to the ground and crouched over him, holding the point of his sword against Flynn's chest.

* * *

As Flynn hit the ground and the dark haired guildsman crouched over him, he knew that he had been bested. He let go of his sword and surrendered. After a moment and a satisfied smile, Yuri stood and reached down for him.

"You're pretty good."

It sounded sarcastic, but Flynn knew that it was a compliment, especially coming from someone who seemed years beyond his own skill level. He could see in that moment, every incorrect move he had made and every place that he had slipped up. Their skill sets were so far apart that Flynn felt as though any particular skill he may have exhibited paled in comparison.

Yuri was amazing. His brilliant ferocity in the midst of battle was awe inspiring, and as those glittering charcoal eyes stared down at him beyond the hand extended, the tingling returned. Why did it only start when he was looking at the guildsman?

"T-Thanks." He took the guildsman's hand and Yuri helped pull him up.

"Your fighting's not bad, but you're missing a few things." He started back toward camp and Flynn followed along on numb and fumbling feet.

"What do you mean?"

"I understand that defense is important to your style, but at the same time, you're stiff and inflexible. Your focus is sharp, but too narrow. A group of opponents could easily throw you off guard." He sheathed his sword and cleaned himself up in a bucket of water that Karol had brought up earlier from a nearby stream. "You need to move around. You're keeping yourself stuck in one spot and that's not an advantage in most fights."

"I see."

"If you're going to be facing an opponent like Zagi again, you're really going to have to step it up. At your current level, you won't stand a chance against a crazy fuck like him."

"I'd like to fight you again sometime after I've improved. If that's all right." He was finally able to see what Yuri fought like when he wasn't holding back. It was an awesome sight and a level to which Flynn could aspire to. _I can admire this person for his strength and still disagree with him, right?_

"Sure thing, but I want more of a challenge next time. Hurry up and catch up with me."

Yuri finished cooking dinner, and they ate around the campfire, chatting and sharing stories and all the while, he felt better, like a weight had been lifted off his chest. He was hungry and not angry for the first time in a while. He still had far to go to be as good a fighter as Yuri, but it was something that he could focus on.

Flynn caught himself stealing glances throughout the meal and the pleasant conversation that followed at the man whose fierceness had bested him. When he laid down, for the first night since his father's death, he got a good night's sleep.

* * *

He made sure they went well out of their way to avoid Heliord, even though their supplies were running low and it would have sped along their trip. He had lived off the land before and had taught Karol as well, and had no problem showing the other unlikely members of his party.

"How do you know so much about these plants, Yuri?"

"I had to take care of myself as a kid. I learned pretty quick what things are edible and what'll make you sick." It had been a painful learning experience, but an important one that he would never forget. He pulled aside the limb of a shrub, revealing a wealth of red berries hidden in its foliage. "Only the red ones are safe. The purple ones are decoys that the plant makes to keep animals from eating it. They're not strong enough to kill you, but they'll give you one hell of a stomachache."

"What about these?" Rita pointed to a patch of frilly yellow and red flowers. "Some flowers are edible, right?"

"The leaves and roots are okay, but the flower itself isn't safe."

"Wow." Estelle the info-vore had been taking notes on nearly everything he said on the subject. "Even pretty things can be dangerous." She picked one of the berries and put it in her mouth in a ladylike fashion. She took a moment to appreciate its flavor and cracked a smile.

"Pretty good, huh?"

"They're delicious!" She picked a few more and skipped over to the mage, who had begun poking around some mushrooms, making sure that her great displeasure over the whole affair was well known. "Rita, try some of these. They're really good."

Rita shifted back onto her heels, and blushingly took a few of the berries from the perky princess. She ate and mumbled something under her breath before going back to her work. Estelle then moved on to Flynn, who had been loafing behind them. Yuri could have sworn that the blond had been shooting him warning glares all day as Estelle had nearly been glued to Yuri's side, ready and willing to learn anything and everything that he would teach her. Had his very clear show that he had no romantic interest in the princess, or any other woman for that matter, not gotten through his thick skull? Yuri wasn't intimidated by these glances and continued about his teaching as if nothing was happening.

"How much further until we reach Dahngrest?" Flynn eventually joined the rest of them in their gathering.

Yuri looked up at the sky. It was already late afternoon, and they still had some ways to go. "If we keep up a good pace, we should make it there tomorrow afternoon."

"Should we go ahead and make camp here and get an early start?"

"We should get a few more miles in if possible. The further we get tonight the less we'll have to go tomorrow." He turned over to Rita and Estelle, who had since been joined by Karol, who had been gathering some local fruit. "Come on, you guys. We should keep moving."

Karol rushed over to join himself and Flynn, and showed off his bag full of apples. Yuri praised him, ruffling the boy's brown hair affectionately the way he often did. He tried to be a good older brother figure to Karol, although sometimes it was harder than others, and things did occasionally get in the way. He did his best to teach him what the world was really like, but at the same time protect him from the harshness that Yuri had known.

Rita and Estelle joined them after a moment and they continued walking until just before sunset. They had put several more miles between them and Heliord, which he was grateful for.

He had not been completely honest with them on the status of the city. When he said that it had been crawling with knights, it was an understatement. What had once been a rising city had been turned into a full on military base. Citizens no longer remained there, and if a guild member was caught anywhere near there, they were immediately arrested and stood trial as a traitor to the Empire. The number of bodies that hung from the gallows there served as a warning. Joining the Union was an act of treason against a empty throned empire run by the madman Commandant.

Flynn built a fire and Karol and Repede returned from a nearby river a little while later with a few large fish for their dinner. Yuri cleaned them and showed Estelle how to cook them. It wasn't too long after dinner that they settled in to sleep, but Yuri found himself restless. He was ready to be in Dahngrest already. He had a lot to do when they got there, including having Raven look into that crooked magistrate and his whereabouts. Just thinking about Ragou made his muscles ache for a fight.

"You can't sleep either?" Estelle sat down beside him, where he had been poking at the dim fire.

"Not really." He over at her to see her fidgeting with her blastia. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just a little worried."

"About what?"

"Everything. I mean, we're almost to Dahngrest and we still don't know exactly what we're going to do. We don't know if Don Whitehorse will even listen to what we have to say. And I know Flynn's really trying, but I'm just not sure about his plan."

"What do you want to do?"

Her green eyes shot up at him in surprise. "What?"

"What do you want to do?"

Her face grew determined. "I want to help Ioder and find out what Alexei is doing."

"Okay. How are you planning on doing that?"

"I want to ask Don Whitehorse, but I'm afraid that he won't listen. There's not really anybody within the Empire I can ask because it seems like they've all sided with Alexei. What do you think I should do?"

"You should do what you think is right. If you think talking to the Don will help, then you should go for it."

Estelle scowled a little, looking down at her hands. Obviously, she had been expecting a definitive answer that Yuri had no intention of giving her. The little princess needed to learn to make decisions for herself, instead of having someone else do it for her.

"Just do what you want to do. I'll do what I can to help."

"Thank you. And once again, I'm sorry. I'm afraid I still don't have an answer for you."

"You still have tomorrow to think about it." From the tone of her voice, he could tell that she had been wracking her brain for the object of compromise for his help.

She nodded. "You've done so much for us. You helped us get out of Zaphias and we wouldn't have gotten this far without your help, too. You saved Flynn from drowning and got everyone safely to shore after the shipwreck. I don't know if anything I offer you can repay that."

"All that's up to you." He shrugged, and reached in to turn over a charred log in the fire. There was silence between them for a few moments, broken only by the crackling of the wood in the flames.

"I know the circumstances of this journey have been less than ideal, and we've been through rough patches, but I'm glad to have had these experiences."

"Nothing like living in the palace, I suppose."

"Not at all. The palace seems so dull now that I've experienced the world outside. I've learned so much since we've begun traveling that I never would have otherwise."

"So, you've never been out of the palace?"

"Oh no. I always believed that the world was too dangerous. That's why they kept me there. I've always lived there, and I'd always been too busy to think about what the world outside could be like outside of my books."

"Busy?" It was hard for him to imagine a girl who lived in the lap of luxury as busy.

"Yes. Whenever someone in the palace gets sick, I heal them. I'm the palace healer after all."

It didn't take him long to put the pieces together, and it brought his anger up fresh, although this was much more contained than previously. She wasn't just some princess, idling her days away. They kept her there, she said as much herself. She had been a prisoner, a bird in a gilded cage, used for her ability to heal the sick and injured when it was convenient. It was likely that she hadn't even realized it. He longed for his freedom. She had never known any.

"Were you happy there?"

"I was content."

"But were you happy?"

She thought for a moment before replying. "I'm not sure. But either way, I'm glad that we met. I've had a lot of fun just being with everyone."

"I'm glad." Yuri leaned back against, Repede, making the dog his pillow once more. He supposed that if she wasn't angry about it, he didn't have much right to be. Maybe she had seen it for what it was, but had merely chosen to see it in another light.

"What do you want, Yuri?"

"Hm?"

"What's the one thing you want to do in this world?" A bit arbitrary, but he answered nonetheless.

"I don't know." That was a lie. "Change it." That was the truth. "Why do you ask?"

"I just get this feeling from you. You're not happy with the ways things are, and from what I've seen on our brief journey, I'm not either. I don't want people to suffer and I can tell that you don't either."

"Hey, don't go over analyzing me or anything. I just happen to be in the right place at the right time."

Estelle chuckled briefly, and then turned somber again. "I want to make sure that people like Ragou, who commit atrocities like that, are punished by the law for their crimes."

"Don't worry." He shifted one of his legs on top of the other, waving his foot in the air. "He'll get what's coming to him. People like that always do." At least they did if Yuri had anything to do with it. More often than not, Yuri made it his business. "You should really get some sleep. We've still got a pretty long way to go tomorrow before we get to Dahngrest."

"I'm too excited to finally get there, but you're right." She got up reluctantly, adjusting her skirts behind her. "I'm really glad we met, Yuri. And as much as Flynn may be dedicated to the rules and sometimes unwilling to compromise, I think that he's glad, too."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because lately it seems like he's a whole different person around you. I've never seen him act like this."

"Hm." That was pretty interesting.

"Well, good night, Yuri."

He watched as she tiptoed quietly across the camp and back to her sleeping bag positioned next to Rita's. She nestled down and tossed and turned for a while before finally drifting off. By that time, Yuri had long since moved his gaze upward to Brave Vesperia. He sighed and stretched and laid flat on the cool ground for a while, watching the night sky. "I wonder what Gramps is going to think about all this."

Repede wuffed softly.

"Yeah. I guess so."


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Notes: This and the chapter following are probably my favorites of the pre-half way chapters.

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

"Are you all right, Flynn?" Estellise knelt by him as he stopped to fill his canteen. It was the third time that day and it was still before noon.

He had been drinking a lot of water, but none of it seemed to be satisfying his thirst. The contents of canteen after canteen disappeared down his throat, but did nothing to relieve the dryness in his mouth. He wouldn't tell her that he was fearing heat exhaustion and dehydration, but he wasn't experiencing the cramps that came with both. He was occasionally dizzy, but always thirsty, but nothing else seemed wrong. Still, he was cautious. "I'm fine, Lady Estellise."

"Can we take a break, Yuri?"

"I suppose a short one won't hurt. We're not too far now."

The sound of the guildsman's voice only increased his symptoms and he could feel the barest bits of a headache forming. He drank his canteen before filling it again. The cool stream didn't help still, only proved to make his stomach feel heavy and bloated.

Could his stomach have merely been nervous about meeting with the leader of the Empire's enemy in order to ask for help? Was he having second thoughts about his already less than perfect plan? Could it be as simple as he was coming down sick from all the stress of their journey? Either way, he didn't like it or how each glance he found himself stealing at the dark haired Yuri only caused the symptoms to worsen once more. Had he done something to Flynn? Everyone else was in sound health and it would have been nearly impossible to poison Flynn's food. He refilled his own canteen and Yuri had no access to it. What was it? How was he causing this?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yuri kneel by the stream to fill his own canteen, as well as those of Karol and Repede, and it sent his head spinning again. Yuri lowered his strong, slender, pale hands into the water to wash them and then splashed a little on this own face and that horrible tingling in Flynn's spine returned.

Flynn was grateful when the guildsman stood and walked away, returned Karol's canteen and then Repede's. Flynn stared at the water for some time after that before Estellise came to get him for an early lunch. He wasn't hungry, but he ate the light meal that she and Rita prepared. Yuri assured them that he would make something more substantial when they arrived in Dahngrest and he could cook for them in a proper kitchen.

As they continued on the road, he could see the twilight city of Dahngrest, huge and sprawling, built on bridges and supports on the meeting of landmasses.

The guild city was very little like what he had expected. The sky spoke of an eternal twilight, even though it was still early afternoon and the ring of the morning star shaped blastia hung in the sky as they did in all other cities. The streets were surprisingly clean, in spite of the several battered and burnt out houses along the outskirts of the city. The class distinction that was so obvious in Zaphias, was less so here. There were no walls separating one class from other. The atmosphere here was different from the capital as well. It was loud and busy and lively. He could hear the shouts of peddlers pushing their wares in the bustling market nearby, and the clink of swords and armor rang through the streets.

There were a few uniformed guards, bearing the symbol of the Union. They waved Yuri, Repede and Karol through, although they cast their eyes in suspicion over the others.

"They're with me."

"If you say so."

They crossed the bridge into the city and Yuri stopped right before they got completely across, turning to them with a broad smirk plastered across his face. "Welcome to Dahngrest."

Estellise was almost immediately marveled by the architecture, spouting off facts from the wealth of books she had read.

"Don't worry," he chuckled. "I'll take you on a tour of the city later."

"Yes." Flynn spoke up for the first time almost all day. "I'd like to see Don Whitehorse as soon as possible."

"We can head up to Union Headquarters now, but there's no guarantee he'll be ready to talk to you. He's probably in court this time of day."

"Court?"

"Yeah. You have the Imperial Council, we have the Union, who oversees trials."

They chatted on further as Yuri led them through the town, but Flynn wasn't listening. He kept a careful eye on the surroundings. It had been almost too easy for them to get in. With the Union and the Empire in a state of war, he had expected at least some resistance, but at Yuri's slightest word, they were let in like it was nothing. The signs of war were in this town, but it seemed almost more severe than the towns they had been in previously. The buildings along the edges of town were burnt out and hollow and the inner buildings were damaged only slightly less severely. And yet it was plain to see that many were under repair. People were actively working on rebuilding and fixing these structures. In spite of his suspicion, he did not feel as ill at ease as he expected to once in the territory of the enemy.

They finally approached a huge building made of dark red and brown bricks. Outside, there were several guards, who seemed to pay them little mind, and a slovenly, middle aged man with ash brown hair and sun weathered skin. He was loafing around by the wall, dressed in bright purples and yellow. He dashed over as soon as he spotted them. Flynn noted how Karol's eyes lit up.

"Hey there, kids!"

"Hey, Old Man."

"Raven!"

He immediately looked around Yuri and Karol to catch a better look at Estellise and Rita, a wolfish grin playing across his lips. "Yowza. When did ya pick up such lovely young lasses?"

Yuri sighed. "Don't start."

"Hello. My name is Estelle. You must be Yuri's grandfather."

The man retracted in shock at that statement and Yuri nearly doubled over laughing. "Ya gone and hurt this old man's feelin's! I'm hardly old enough to be the boy's father."

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" She bowed.

"And you are...?"

Rita huffed at him. "Rita. Keep your hands to yourself, you old perv."

He seemed less offended by that. "Name's Raven. I'm a friend of the kids."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Raven."

He twirled around on one foot, folding his hands behind his head. "So, what brings you to the Union HQ?"

"They want to meet with the Don."

He spun back, taken aback once more. "You know the Don doesn't meet with just anyone. And he's in session right now."

"I'm sure he'll want to hear what they have to say."

Raven eyed Yuri and then nodded. "All right. I'll escort you in."

The guards let them in with no issues and Raven walked at the head of the group beside Yuri. He ran a hand across Yuri's shoulders with a familiarity that made Flynn feel somewhat uncomfortable. They spoke quietly between themselves, even as Karol jogged up to walk beside them, and got his brown hair ruffled by the scruffy man.

A long hall and a short set of stairs brought them to a large door decorated with the symbols of the five Master Guilds that made up the Union. Altosk, Soul Smiths, Blood Alliance, Fortune's Market, and Ruin's Gate. Raven turned to them, his hand on the door, and a finger pressed to his lips, signaling them to stay quiet for the time being. When everyone returned the gesture with a nod, he opened the door and ushered them in.

The Union's meeting room was long and wide, decorated with red and gold banners with the same symbols as on the door. Two long rows of cushioned seats lined the walls, and seated there were a large number of guild members. At the very head of the room was a huge man, towering head and shoulders over everyone else, with long white hair and a beard. His broad face and chest were marked with long, red tattoos and Flynn knew the man in an instant. This had to have been the notorious Don Whitehorse.

They took a spot at the back of the room by the wall and Yuri indicated that they would wait until the session was over to approach the Don in privacy. So they watched and waited.

"Next case." A guard beside the Don spoke and a young man in shackles was brought forth, followed by an elderly man.

"State your case."

The old man spoke first. "This boy vandalized my shop! Twice he has thrown rocks through my windows and splashed paint on my doors! This second time I caught him in the act. Windows are expensive and with the profits of my shop, I can only keep my family fed."

The room was silent as the Don opened his mouth to speak, turning to the shackled man. His voice was not as loud as one would expect, but gravelly. He spoke with the slightest of Tolbyccian accents, dropping his r's every so often and his language mostly informal. Even with that, he spoke like an educated man. "You were caught in the act. What do you have to say for yerself?"

The man remained silent, his head lowered in shame.

"I'll take that as a guilty plea." The Don ran a large hand down his chin and stroked his beard. "All right. To pay yer debt, yer going ta work for this man until you've made enough to replace his windows and yer gonna make him a new door."

"Yes, Sir."

"And if I hear that yer giving him any trouble, so help me, you'll be spending the rest of yer sentence in jail."

"Thank you, Don." The elderly man bowed, and the guard showed them out.

"Court's adjourned."

With that, many of the people filed out of the room and after a moment, the only people that remained were two more guards behind the Don and a blond young man standing behind the seat of power, a long, red tattoo across his nose. Raven slipped away from them and trotted on ahead, leaning over Don Whitehorse and whispering to him. A broad grin played across his face. He waved a hand at them, motioning for them to approach and he leaned back a little in his chair.

Yuri strode up first, confident and unafraid in the presence of the man who was both the leader of his guild and the leader of the city-state of Dahngrest. That confidence astounded Flynn. He stopped on a firm heel a few feet in front of the seat of power.

"Surprised to see you back so soon, lad."

"Hey, Gramps."


	13. Chapter 13

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

From the gasp that rang in his ears, there was no doubt that the knight and the princess behind him were stunned. He had revealed some of his cards, but he still had tricks hidden up his sleeves. He had learned gambling from some of the best.

"Yuri, then your grandfather is-"

"Looks like you've assembled yerself a motley crew here. What brings you back to Dahngrest?"

"These two would like to talk to you. It's pretty important."

The Don eyed Flynn and Estelle for a moment before speaking. "And who are yer friends here?"

Yuri took a step forward and moved to one side, so that he could get a better look at the shocked looks Flynn and Estelle still wore. "This is Estelle. She's with me. He's Flynn. He's a Royal Guard."

The Union guards sprung into action just like he had expected, halberds pointed at the blond. Although shocked, Flynn didn't budge. He must have known that it would look bad if he tried to bolt. Yuri had to admit he was pretty impressed. Flynn must have been more dedicated to his foolish plan than Yuri had expected. He stood stalwart beside Estelle, ready to protect her at a moment's notice if it came to it. He glared over at Yuri, but said nothing.

"He's come to talk. He's no threat to the Union."

"I'm not sure I wanna listen to what an Imperial has to say."

He had expected that, but so had Flynn. "Please, Don Whitehorse, I come with the utmost urgency. I fear that both the Empire and the Union are in grave danger-"

The huge man stood, anger plain on his face. "I'm in no mood to listen to you right now." With the recent tensions between the Empire and the Union, his rage should have come as no surprise. The war had been wearing on both parties.

"But, Sir!"

Estelle moved to step forward, but Yuri motioned for her not to. She stopped, although a bit reluctantly. She must have known that acting rashly here would be bad.

"Take this Imperial into custody for now. Maybe I'll hear him out later." Yuri knew that would take some talking to the Don on his part, but he didn't mind. The gruff old man would listen to him.

The guards moved forward and had Flynn in shackles with speed and efficiency that would shame the Imperial Knights. The blond didn't struggle and was drug away without incident. He glared back at Yuri one final time, his blue eyes bright as fire. No doubt Yuri was going get an earful for this and likely another round of fist fighting between them. Not that he minded either. Flynn was able to get reactions out of him like no one else, and vice versa it seemed.

"Whadderya thinking, lad? Bringing a Royal Guard here?" The Don sat back down in his chair.

"It's a matter of importance, but it can wait."

Don Whitehorse said nothing further for a long moment, only analyzing them closely. When he spoke again, his temper seemed to have cooled. "We'll see about that later. In the meantime, Raven here says you got some information for me."

"Give me a minute."

The Don nodded, and leaned over to talk quietly to Raven.

Yuri turned to the others. Estelle was looking at him in anger and concern, obviously over Flynn, and Karol and Rita seemed only partially interested in the proceedings. "Karol, go on ahead and take Estelle and Rita to my place. I'll be by a little later."

"Yuri, what about Flynn? We can't just leave him like this."

"I'll take care of it. Trust me."

She pouted a little, but nodded, and Karol led the two girls away.

Once they were safely out of range, Yuri spoke. He explained what had happened in Zaphias, and the events that had followed until he came to their brief and tumultuous time in Capua Nor. The Don stopped him.

"What did ya say?"

"Barbos is up to something. He's working along side a crooked imperial magistrate. On top of that, Zagi's working for him and Alexei. They have to be connected. There's no way that all this is a coincidence." He reached into his shirt, pulling out a bag the size of the palm of his hand and passed it over. "I found this aboard Barbos's ship."

Don Whitehorse took the bag, opening it a little to view its contents. Half a dozen blastia cores shined up at him from within the leather bag. "Some of the cores that've been stolen. So you think he's connected to our thief, too?"

"That's my best guess. Which means that that trail could lead back to Alexei as well."

The Don stroked his beard a moment. "All right. I'll hear the boy and girl out. I'm not making any promises, though."

"Of course."

"Bring 'em by the office around midnight."

"Mind if I bust our guest out?"

"I'm pretty sure he's got the idea that we don't play around here in Dahngrest. Go ahead and release him, but he's your responsibility."

"He's prejudiced, but he's too much of a stuffed shirt to do anything. I'll keep my eye on him though. Thanks, Gramps." Yuri turned and left the meeting hall. As he entered the main foyer, he turned to a door on the right hand side of the hall. The guard there let him pass, and he took the long set of stairs that followed down into the Union dungeon. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, in front of the guard desk. "I'm here for the prisoner. Don's orders."

The guard relinquished the key and Yuri sent the man on break. After the door above was closed behind him, he moved to the second cell in the row.

Flynn leaned against the wall, his left arm perched on his raised knee, staring out the tiny window in the back of the room. He didn't look at Yuri, but had obviously heard him approach. The fingers of his right hand tightened in anger and he swallowed hard to hold that rage back.

"Pretty sobering to get to see the world from the other side, huh?"

He remained silent, although the words of argument had to have been ready on his tongue.

Yuri leaned against the cell door, jutting his hips backward, and twirling the key on his index finger. "Ready to keep me warm now?"

"You are the last person I want to see right now." His face reddened a little.

"Funny. I should be the first person."

"What do you want?"

Oh, the answers he could think of that he kept to himself. "I've come to let you out. Gramps decided to listen to what you've got to say." He unlocked the door and let it swing open.

The blond stood slowly and walked out. As soon as Yuri shut the door behind him, Flynn grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, shoving him against the bars. He could have fought back, but he did not, only thinking that if the blond liked playing rough, Yuri would certainly oblige him.

"Where is Lady Estellise?!"

"She's fine. She and Rita are safe at my place."

Flynn pulled him back a little and shoved him once more, making sure the the bars dug into his back. Yuri had been in positions far worse than this.

"If you'd rather stay here, I can arrange that."

After a deep breath to calm himself, the knight released him and put a few steps distance between them. "Let's go."

* * *

Flynn was so unspeakably angry as he followed the dark haired guildsman back through the city of Dahngrest. His mouth was even drier than before and his head hurt worse, but he chalked that up to his boiling rage. They followed the main road to where it forked in the town square, and headed to the left. Down the left path, they came to a large tavern with a sign above it that read 'Sagittarius'. They took an alleyway around behind the building to a long set of stairs that led to a second floor. Yuri led Flynn up the stairs and into the apartment.

Estellise and Rita were there, reading a book on the sofa in the main room, while Karol was rummaging around in the kitchen. As soon as they entered, Estellise popped off the sofa like a cork, and was over checking on him in a flash.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Lady Estellise."

Yuri got swatted on the arm for what he had done, but that hardly seemed punishment enough, even as she started to complain. "I can't believe you, Yuri!"

"It was best that we got all that out in the open, but I do have good news."

"What?"

"Gramps has agreed to meet with you two later tonight to hear your side of the story. In the meantime, why don't we grab some dinner downstairs?"

Flynn didn't have much to say, but dinner was agreed upon and the party moved to the tavern downstairs. A Krityan waitress showed them to a table off to one side of the room and brought them a round of ale for Yuri and Flynn, and juice for Estellise, Rita, and Karol. Yuri threw back his head and downed his ale and the waitress brought him another before moving off to a table in the back.

"I'm so glad the Don agreed to hear us out." Estellise sighed a little with relief.

"There's still no guarantee that he'll want to help."

"It's still worth a try. I won't give up."

He was surprised by her sudden boldness. When had Estellise become so determined? It was much different than what he had witnessed of her in the palace of Zaphias these past few years, and yet, he didn't mind. It was nice, but he couldn't help but feel like it had something to do with Yuri.

After a little while, the waitress returned with a feast of food: exotic fruits, roasted meats, fresh vegetables, and warm, freshly baked breads. They were surely being treated specially because of the presence of the dark haired guildsman.

"So Don Whitehorse is your grandfather?"

"Yeah. He adopted me when I was ten."

"Why did you hide it from us?" Rita asked, finishing off a slice of buttered bread.

"I didn't hide it. I just didn't tell you."

"Why?"

"It wasn't all that important. Would it really have changed things?"

It was important. If Flynn had known that his prisoner was a very important member of the most powerful guild in Dahngrest, and the adopted grandson of that same guild's leader, he could have planned all of this so much better. Ransoming was still very much out of the question, but he could have asked Yuri for help and tried to be more compromising rather than just ordering the guildsman around. Estellise had been right to try and work with Yuri. And now, Flynn felt like a huge idiot. He also could have anticipated being outed in front of the Don as revenge and then arrested on the spot. Knowing that would have changed a lot.

Yuri downed another ale and a bowl of miso soup. The waitress returned once more to refill his drink and top off Flynn's, which he had hardly touched.

"Hey, kids." Raven approached the table in his slumping walk. "Mind if I join ya?"

"Don't you have work to be doing, Old Man?"

"This old man just wants some dinner."

Karol pulled over another chair to allow Raven to sit next to him and received an affectionate pat on the back as Raven sat down. He rattled off about some of the monsters they had faced to this point and their long trip from Halure and the scruffy man smiled and praised him a little in much the same way Yuri did. Yuri broke in once or twice to enhance the feel of the tale, smiling and looking much more comfortable than Flynn had ever seen him be before this point. He must have known that he was safe here. Even if he was a prisoner of Flynn's, here in Dahngrest, he was a free man and a powerful one. He could easily be rid of the problem of being a captured spy if he felt like it.

"How about after this, we hit the bathhouse?"

"What?"

"Oh, I guess you don't have a lot of public baths in Zaphais. Here in Dahngrest, we have public bathhouses instead of private ones."

"Tends to save on water. And it's a great way to let go of ones... /inhibitions/," Raven said in a sultry voice, eyeing Estellise in a most improper way.

She blushed, fumbling with her juice.

Yuri smacked Raven in the back of the head. "Cut it out. The men and women's baths are separate mostly because of people like you."

"Yer no fun. The baths being segregated doesn't effect /you/." Raven was surely referencing Yuri's apparent preference for the company of men.

Yuri shrugged.

Flynn instantly found himself feeling uncomfortable again, remembering the kiss from a few nights prior. His mouth felt desert dry once more and he tried to quench it with his ale. It didn't help much. He shifted in his seat and grabbed a few slices of peeled orange to keep his fumbling hands and parched mouth busy. He hated feeling like this and he wasn't sure why it kept recurring.

A ruckus in the back of the room started suddenly, only interrupted by a soft, feminine voice saying, "Pardon, but are you accusing me of cheating?"

Yuri looked over just in time to see a burly man flip a table in the very back corner of the room and and lunge for a scantily clad Krityan woman. She dodged him with minimal effort. In spite of her voluptuous and feminine frame, she grabbed him by the back of his breastplate with amazing strength and flung him across the bar. Another of the men went after her, and suddenly the whole bar was in the frenzy of the fight.

The dark haired guildsman whirled out of his chair with the speed that Flynn knew from battle, knocking aside a man with his feet that was coming toward them with a chair raised high above his head. He charged ahead, easily downing the surliest and biggest of opponents as if they were merely flies, and taunting others as they turned their aggression from the Krityan woman to him. Flynn tried to ignore the fight. He tried to just keep eating, but found his eyes fixed once again of the battle prowess of Yuri that had been continually capturing his attention.

It caught his attention so much that he didn't see one of the bar patrons coming at him until a huge fist connected with his face. He tumbled backward onto the floor, and pulled himself up quickly, adrenaline pumping like fire in his veins. He hit the man who had attacked him first, knocking him into a neighboring table that flipped over on top of him.

Flynn may not have been the strongest of fighters, but he could hold his own in a bar fight when it came down to it. After all, this wasn't his first.

A glass flew by his head, but he dodged it, spinning. He bumped into someone who whipped around as quickly as he did. It was Yuri, smirking as broadly as he had ever seen, and dodging an attempted attack from behind. With his head, he motioned to Flynn, who stomped on the foot of another attacking patron.

"You're not bad, for a dog of the Empire."

He didn't have time to freeze from that this time, but instead, he knew in an instant where he had heard it and why that voice was so familiar. It did nothing to sate his anger.

Yuri spun, taking down the last of the still standing fighters, and watching as he fell into a heap on the ground. "That serves you right for starting a brawl." He cracked his knuckles and stood triumphant.

Flynn didn't have time to think as the lovely Krityan woman approached them. "Thank you," she said, pushing a bit of her lavender hair behind one of her pointed ears.

"No prob, Judy."

She punched him gently in the shoulder, which he gladly returned. "Who's your handsome friend here?"

"This is Flynn."

"Flynn Scifo, ma'am."

"Judith."

He wasn't sure why he found himself half worried that the lovely Krityan wasn't a little more than friends with Yuri, given the way their eyes met and seemed to glitter mischievously and the familiarity of their touches. But then he remembered what Yuri had told him and the kiss once more and he felt the tiniest bit relieved for a reason that he didn't quite understand.

"What have you been up to?"

"Oh, just the usual." She folded her hands behind her back and smiled a little as she rocked back on one of her spiked heels. "I'd really love to stay and chat, but I have to get going."

"See you around then, Judy." He watched thoughtfully as the Krityan left, and then turned back to the now waking starters of the fight. He pulled the burly man up. "Now, you and your buddies are going to get this place cleaned up."

The man didn't argue, scrambling to his feet, and immediately began straightening tables and chairs and picking up flatware and silverware from off the floor.

Yuri returned to the meal like nothing had happened, but Flynn was stuck. He knew Yuri. He had met him before this and it had taken a bar fight to bring that memory fresh to his mind after everything that had been happening. They had fought in a bar fight once before, many miles from the town of Dahngrest, and years before this war. Why had it taken him this long to figure it out?

He wanted to confront the man now about a place where they had both been before, but the guildsman had settled easily back into his seat and was chatting with the others while snacking away on the remains of the feast. He would wait until they had a moment alone.

The waitresses came and thanked Yuri when the bar was cleaned up and the problematic patrons had gone drunkenly home and then gathered up the empty dishes. He left the money for their meal and what seemed like a sizable tip before ushering them all out and further down the street. Raven made his exit here, slipping away into the night.


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Notes: If you watched First Strike, some the events from last chapter may have seemed familiar. The First Strike connection to this fic will be explained a few more chapters down the road.

* * *

With full bellies, they wandered through the city streets lit by blastia lamps to a building over one of the city's many bridges. It had curtains for doors, and wisps of steam could be seen flowing from the open windows. It was short in comparison to the other buildings, split in level where many others were two and three full stories. The banner hanging outside indicated that it was run by a guild. Outside, a few people in robes stood, handing out pamphlets to passersby.

One of the ladies greeted them cordially and pulled open the curtain door. Steam hit them in the face, and Flynn instantly found himself sweating.

Yuri conversed for a moment with the man running the front counter, and then handed a wooden token off to each Rita and Estellise. "We'll meet you back here in about half an hour, okay?"

"Okay." Estellise slipped her hand into Rita's, an excited smile lighting up her face. "Let's go, Rita."

The mage fumbled for words and was dragged off down the hall before she could manage to speak.

The guildsman gave each of them similar wooden tokens as well, and led the way down an opposite hall through the very warm building. It was a brief walk for them to enter a changing room, where Yuri wasted no time in undressing. Karol was doing the same, tossing his clothing beside Yuri's on a long, wooden bench.

Flynn felt uneasy once more and all of his clothing uncomfortably hot and tight, so he followed suit, even if a bit slowly and shakily. He wrapped a towel around his waist and folded his clothing neatly, setting it beside the others. Before he realized it, he was alone, and Karol and Yuri had marched off into the adjoining bath without him. He followed the steps they left behind into the steamy, cypress paneled room, washed off quickly at one of the side showers where Yuri and Karol were just finishing up, and slid into the bath.

"There's nothing like a nice hot bath after a long time out on the road." Yuri stretched and sunk against the stone interior of the bath a little.

"Yeah. It's great," Karol replied.

It was relaxing, as much as he hated to admit it. He could feel his travel weary and aching muscles being soothed by the hot water. He didn't want to relax. He wanted to be talking with the Don about possible solutions to their problem and where to go from here, but this time would allow him a chance to clear his muddled head and think things through before he made a fatal error. He leaned back in the water, closing his eyes. His peace was quickly shattered when he was splashed in the face with some of the water while Yuri and Karol started horsing around on the other side of the tub.

Flynn glared over at them, but only received another splash to the face from Yuri for his trouble. Apparently the man's itch for the fight hadn't been satisfied with a simple bar brawl. Flynn held his temper and didn't retaliate as Yuri and Karol continued their splash fight. Eventually, the waves they were making in the bath proved a little relaxing on their own.

His eyes and limbs felt so heavy. Briefly, he fought off the idea of sleeping in the bath, but surely a little nap couldn't hurt.

"Come on, Flynn. Half hour's up."

He jolted up, wide awake, and scrambled out of the bath behind the exiting Yuri and Karol. As he entered the changing room, he was able to get a good, although completely unwarranted, look at the bare guildsman. His pale skin was flushed from the heat of the bath water, revealing numerous silvery scars across his back and down his arms and legs. He recognized many of the scars for what they were and what had made them. Whips, ropes, daggers, and other such tools of torture, and not of battle. Even with so many scars marring that glistening skin with his wet, dark hair plastered to it, he still found that form somewhat admirable. It was long and lean but with muscles that showed years of hard work and training. The sensation in his spine returned worse than before.

"What?"

He lifted his eyes quickly, looking around. Yuri had caught him in the act of spying on him as it were. "N-Nothing. Just looking at your scars." Sure. That's what he had been doing, although the stammering in his statement did little to convince either of them.

"Oh. I guess I do have a lot of them." Yuri ran one slender hand down his arm, across a myriad of scars.

"Yuri's scars are battle trophies!" The boy was already dressed and sitting on the bench, swinging his legs waiting for the two of them.

The smile the dark haired man gave Karol was halfhearted at best but the child saw it as genuine. "Yup. That's right." Yuri knew that most of those marks were not from fighting.

"It just proves how great a fighter Yuri is!"

"How about you run off and find the girls? We'll catch up with you in a few minutes."

"Okay!" He rushed from the room, back down the hall that they had come down initially. "Go ahead and say it."

"Say what?"

Yuri pulled on his shirt, staring over at him. "What you really think."

"Those scars aren't from battle. They're-"

"Let him stay in the dark for now. He doesn't need to know just how harsh the world really is yet." He donned his black vest and tied his belt at the small of his back.

There was a heavy quiet between them as Flynn finished dressing. Flynn wanted to talk to Yuri about the place where they had met before all this, and the circumstances that had taken them both there. He felt so stupid for not realizing it earlier and wondered if Yuri had known all along. The guildsman was sharp, sharper than he would let on. He seemed to be constantly observing everything, including the others in the group. Was that his purpose all those years ago, too?

"What's taking you?"

Flynn hadn't realized the buttons of his white shirt were so cumbersome while he was lost in thought once more about the dark haired Yuri. Warmth crept up his neck and he finished the buttons off quickly. "Sorry."

Yuri waved a hand at him. "Best not to keep Gramps waiting."

"Right."

He followed Yuri out of the room and they met with Estellise, Rita, and Karol at the front desk before making their way back to the Sagittarius.

"What are we doing back here?" Estellise asked.

"Gramps' office is here. Do you still want to talk to him?"

"Yes."

"Let's go then." He took them inside once more. It was substantially quieter now than it had been. Many of the patrons must have crawled home by this late at night, and the waitstaff was cleaning off tables and mopping the floor. He led them to a door on the right hand side of the room, close to the table where they had sat earlier. Flynn hadn't noticed this door before or the symbol of Altosk engraved on its surface. He didn't have much time to think about it as Yuri knocked and received a reply to enter.

He opened the door and let them into a long office that would have rivaled that of the Commandant, furnished with tapestries bearing the crests of Altosk and Dahngrest in red and gold hanging against the walls, two long, cushioned red couches with a dark wood coffee table between them, and a large, matching desk and bookcases toward the north end of the room. Behind the desk, reclining in the chair was Don Whitehorse, glancing over papers with wizened eyes, and Raven standing beside him.

Yuri sat down on the sofa, on an end away from the desk and leaned back. His whole attitude was once more unafraid and unconcerned. He motioned for the others to sit, Flynn and Estellise on the ends of the couch close to the desk.

"So, what is of such urgency that two Imperials come to see me?"

Estellise stood before Flynn could and gave a little bow. "Thank you for seeing us. We fear that Commandant Alexei Dinoia is planning something that could endanger both the Empire and the Union. He has captured Prince Ioder and has him imprisoned with the palace in Zaphias. He is somehow harnessing aer and filling the palace with it."

"Why would he be doin' that?"

She hesitated for only a second, and Yuri shifted his gaze over to her, as if waiting to see what she would do and say. "I have to say that I do not know, but if this continues, then the lives of the people of Zaphias and the prince are all in danger. I don't know how he will benefit from this, but it will surely be at the cost of the lives of many innocent people."

Flynn stood beside her, bowing also. "Nothing good can come from whatever he is planning. The main problem is that we don't have much of an idea of what he is planning. We know that he is after members of the royal family."

Raven leaned over to the Don, whispering, and passed him a slip of paper. He picked it up, skimming its contents briefly, and then reading through better a second time as if in disbelief.

"From Belius?"

"Yeah. Arrived just a bit ago."

"I see." He turned his eyes back to Estellise and Flynn. "So, you're Princess Estellise then?"

"Y-Yes, Sir."

"Looks like you've got someone looking out for ya. Whaddya want from me?"

"We'd like your assistance retaking the capital from Alexei and saving Master Ioder."

"And why should I help you? The Empire's caused me a lotta trouble these past few years."

"If Alexei is not stopped, Dahngrest and the Union could be in danger as well. We're not sure what he's planning, but we know that it can't be good."

The Don leaned back, tapping the ends of his huge fingers together and casting his eyes over them, looking for traces of falsehood. "What do you think, Yuri?"

"Whatever Alexei is doing, it's definitely a danger to Dahngrest. Zaphias, too."

"You feeling a little bit of homesickness for that place, lad?" The mountain of a man laughed.

"Not on your life, Gramps. I hate the Empire."

"All right. I'll give ya some assistance. but I want something in return, in case your little prince decides that he's not too keen on cooperating after I go through all this trouble."

"What did you have in mind as compensation in that case?"

"Yer life."

Flynn didn't waver. He couldn't show weakness here. He had to believe in Ioder and Estellise and the idea of taking down Alexei. "My life is forfeit then if it comes to that. What are your other conditions?

"I want a show of loyalty from ya. I need to know if I can trust ya. In order to do that, I want ya to go to Caer Bocram. Heard the Empire's gotta lot of knights hanging around there for it just being some ruins. Something's up and I want to know what it is. Prove to me that yer little plan is worthy of my effort." He stood. Even behind the desk, he loomed over them. "And Yuri, yer going with them."

"Sure thing." He wasn't surprised in the least. He had probably known all along what the Don was planning. Flynn was pretty sure that the only reason that they even got a meeting with Don Whitehorse was because his grandson convinced him to hear them out, whether or not he would admit it.

"Now get outta here. I want you out of town with the dawn."

They left quickly and quietly around the back of the building to Yuri's apartment upstairs. At the stairs, Karol separated from them. "Well, I'm going home. I'll see you bright and early."

"Night, Karol."

They said their good nights and Karol disappeared into the darkened city.

"My landlady said you two could stay in the unused apartment next door. It's not much, but she keeps it neat and furnished for when her family comes into town." Yuri produced a key, handing it to Estellise and pointing upward to the apartment adjacent to his own.

"What about Flynn?"

"He can sleep on my couch."

The two girls wasted no time saying their good nights also and heading up to bed. Flynn followed Yuri upstairs as well and into the apartment that he resided in. He hadn't gotten a good look at it before and now he could honestly say that he was surprised by the neatness of the place.

Yuri didn't strike him as a neat freak, but everything had a place and was in it. There was a minimum of decorations. There were a few swords hanging along one wall, wooden and otherwise, and above them, a banner with the crest of Dahngrest. The sofa that sat on the edge of the living room was only big enough for two people, a little tattered and dusty, patched with bits of fabric. The kitchen was well stocked and well equipped and clean. It was quiet and strange and didn't bear a homey feeling. It seemed as though Yuri was on the road so often that the place was barely lived in. Suddenly, he felt so far removed from his own home and his own city that this place felt alien.

"It's not much, but it's better than sleeping in jail." Yuri shut the door behind Repede, who padded into the living room and laid down on the rug beside the sofa.

"No. It's fine."

The dark haired man drifted down the hallway and into a room. A moment later, he returned with a pillow and a blanket and tossed them at Flynn.

"Make yourself at home." Yuri stretched and yawned. He turned back with a crooked smile. "I'll be down the hall if you decide you want to join me."

The heat rose once more against his neck and into his face. Flynn turned away, rubbing his neck, feeling generally uncomfortable. Why did the guildsman insist on this continual and unwanted teasing? He was so good at making Flynn feel strange in ways he never had before.

"Good night." Yuri shot him one last come-hither glance as he walked down the hallway and disappeared once more into the room, faint laughter following behind.

Flynn flopped down on the couch with a groan, pulling the blanket over himself.

For a long time, he tossed and turned, the dark and the quiet unnerving him to no end. He sat up and laid back down and got up again and cracked open a window to alleviate the annoying heat still lingering in his limbs before laying back down again. All manner of thoughts drifted through his brain. He thought of his father, of his home city and the heinous things happening within its walls. He thought about Dahngrest and its ever twilight sky and the enigmatic and strangely alluring Yuri that called the city home. He thought of the distance between them, both literal and figurative, both the two cities and he and Yuri respectively. He thought of silvery scars on heat flushed skin, and cunning and lively dark grey eyes.

In the dark, he could see the shining of Repede's eye looking up at him from the floor. The dog yawned, letting out a whine.

"I don't get it, Repede." He sat up, pushing his blond hair out of his face and backward in frustration. "Every time I look at him, I feel sick." He went on to think, his mouth not wanting to utter so many strange and formless words into the darkness. _We disagree about so much but at the same time, his willingness to help others is admirable. I don't want to think about him and how fierce and graceful and—somehow after everything—worthy of admiration he is, but I can't stop._

The dog snorted at him, as if laughing, as if knowing.

"What's so funny?"

Repede wuffed softly, and snorted again.

_It's not like I'm enraptured by his every movement or enthralled by the simple sway of his hips or the fall of his hair._ Flynn rubbed his fire hot face, agitation wearing on his every move. _It's not like I can't keep my eyes off of him. I haven't paid more than a passing second's mind to that kiss he stole..._ He leaned back onto the couch pillows, sighing. He kicked the covers off fitfully. Even with the window open, he was much too warm. His stomach churned uncomfortably and he brought one of his hands to his face to distract himself from the sounds it made.

Flynn ran his fingers across his lips. The slight sensation was nothing like when Yuri had kissed him, leaving the barest trace of apple flavor and sweetness that Flynn found himself struggling to not remember, but burned so hot in his brain that he would never forget. That wolfish grin and glint of his charcoal eyes didn't make Flynn feel weak in the knees at all.

"Oh, hell." He was lying to himself and suddenly he knew the truth. "I'm attracted to him."

The sound Repede produced was much more like laughter than any noise he had ever heard a dog make and when Flynn jolted up, he could swear that the warrior dog was smiling.

"Don't you dare tell Yuri." If in fact they could communicate in earnest and the dark haired guildsman wasn't completely mad.

Repede raised his furry brow as if to say some combination of 'who do you think you're talking to?' and 'what's in it for me?'

"I'll buy you a steak."

The dog seemed thoroughly far from amused by Flynn's attempt at bribery. He laid his head down, staring up at Flynn with his single green eye. He seemed to say 'You can trust me.'

"Thanks, Repede." Flynn laid back down, letting one arm drape off the sofa so that he could pet the dog as he tried once more to sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

The rain threatened to impede them as they neared the ruins of Caer Bocram after a two day journey. It softened as they reached the cliff side that sheltered the mass of fallen buildings and overgrowth and was only a drizzle when they neared the entrance of the ruins. Rumors were that the town had been destroyed in recent earthquakes, but from the age of the wear on the crumbling structures, Rita surmised that it had been much longer than a few years. She estimated almost five hundred with the amount of overgrowth and decay. One thing they knew instantly was that the Don had been right. Caer Bocram was crawling with knights. They were positioned at the entrance, by the remains of the city wall and at nearly every building. They were a mixed company, some wearing the uniform of the Cumore Brigade, others the olive and brown of the Schwann, and still others wearing the red Royal Guard uniform.

They crouched under the huge leaves of a palm-like plant.

"How are we supposed to get in?" Estelle asked. "There are knights everywhere."

"We need a distraction."

"Or we can take this." Yuri pointed out a fallen pillar covered in ivy and thick green moss. "It looks like it leads right up to the roof. Once we're up there, we should be able to move around without being seen." As much as he would love to barge in and take down the knights in a fight, this was a reconnaissance mission. The last thing he wanted was for the Empire to know that they knew about this place. Not getting captured was also on that list.

He shimmied up the pillar first, finding handholds in the long growing ivy. He spent a quiet moment scouting the roof and surrounding area. It seemed safe, and he returned to the pillar to pull Estelle, then Rita up, and Karol and Flynn followed. Repede hopped up after them, taking the incline with ease. They all waited and watched the movements of the guards to better plan their movements across the ruins. The whole place seemed well guarded, but a few moments of observation betrayed flaws and blind spots. From this rooftop, they had access to others in the area, but the second level of buildings built into the walls of the cliff side would prove a little more challenging.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Karol kept a trained eye watching the milling knights.

"If we knew that, we wouldn't be here." Rita was ever quick with a harsh reply.

"Our best bet is to look for the most heavily guarded building. That's where the action's going to be." In the immediate vicinity, there were no areas that were obviously more heavily protected. As they climbed to the next roof, Yuri spotted an area on the next level that had an extra guard, and these were Royal Guards.

He moved forward first followed by his ever present partner, scouting out their path. The second flight was accessible through a thick wall of vines that hung behind one of the buildings and out of sight. The guards paced and Yuri waved each party member through in the blind spot as the guards turned their backs. One by one they made it up the ledge and into an empty, unguarded building nearby that they entered through a large hole in its rear wall.

The shelter allowed them a few moments out of the rain to plot their next movements. Yuri could see a ledge not too far away where a sizable group of knights were stationed. He pointed it out to Flynn, who was observing the scene beside him. "Whatever they're hiding, it's back there."

"You and I should continue on and leave the others here." He spoke quietly, but Estelle heard anyway and objected.

"No. This was a mission that Don Whitehorse entrusted to you and I. I have just as much to prove to him as you do. If anything, you and I should be the only ones to continue."

"What?! There is no way I'm letting you go by yourself. That's stupid!"

"Rita's right. It'll be safer if we all stick together. Getting separated here is a bad idea. For now, let's get back out there and look for a way over there."

They left the building the way they had entered. There didn't seem to be an obvious way to move from their current location to where they wanted to be. They moved to the third level of the city, which was thankfully free of guards. It seemed as though the knights didn't want to bother with this area. Even with the bit of freedom that they had, they remained quiet and stealthily moved from one building to another.

"Yuri."

"What did you find, Estelle?"

"This house has a set of stairs leading down. Maybe that'll take us back down."

"Good job." He smiled and she flushed as pink as her own hair. "Let's give it a try." Yuri opened the window she had been peeking in. It resisted at first, but with enough effort, he opened it. He crept in first, examining the remains of the home that this building had once been. The air was musty and thick with years of undisturbed dust and decay. Rain leaked onto the wooden floor from a hole in the ceiling, dampening the yellowed books and papers that laid strewn about. Whoever had inhabited this town had left in a hurry.

He moved down the stairs a little ways and he could see through the window on the front door, a guard standing there, slouched against the door as if sleeping. A little ways further down the stairs, he got a good view of the unguarded path that led away from what was once the town square and toward a small pond that appeared to be vaguely in the direction they were heading in. It was better than nothing. He would have to knock the guard out, but be careful not to cause too much of a ruckus and alert others in the area. He padded softly across the landing and to the door. He double checked to see if there were any other guards before he made his move. It was all clear.

Yuri reached through a hole in the glass window, holding his breath and moving slow and silently. He clamped his hand over the knight's mouth, and the man started to struggle. Yuri pulled open the door, pulling the knight with it, and they tumbled onto the building's concrete floor.

The knight fumbled, struggling for his sword, fighting for his life, but Yuri pinned him down and ripped off his helmet.

"Sorry." He raised the pommel of his blade and struck the struggling knight in the side of his head. The guard fell instantly limp, knocked out cold. "Not really."

Yuri made quick work of tying up and blindfolding the man. He checked once more to make sure the area outside was free of guards, before heading back up the stairs and waving for the others to follow.

"Are you all right, Yuri?"

He was a little breathless from his fight, but felt fine until she touched his left arm and found a long cut. It must have been caused by his sudden movement through the glass window while he fought with the guard. "It's not too bad. No need to worry."

In a flash of green and gold, the flesh of his arm began knitting itself back together quickly and after a few seconds all that remained was a dark scar that with enough time would turn pale like all the others.

"Thanks."

"I'm glad I could help."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rita staring at Estelle from the corner of her teal eyes. As a blastia researcher, she must have noticed the fact that Estelle wasn't using that pretty trinket of a blastia on her arm to cast. Rita was sharp, and had probably picked up on it days ago. That didn't really worry him. Rita and Estelle seemed to becoming fast friends, in spite of the mage's prickly nature when it came to other people.

"Any guards nearby?" Flynn started down the stairs.

"Just one. But he won't be waking up for a while."

Flynn frowned at him, but said nothing further as he descended to the bottom floor. The others followed and Yuri watched as he dutifully checked on his uninjured comrade. He frowned again, but he didn't look at Yuri this time. Instead, he searched the man's clothing, those slightly tanned fingers knowing every button and pocket of the Royal Guard's uniform intimately. It made Yuri think some very questionable thoughts that he kept to himself. Some days, he was bothered by his inexplicable attraction to blonds, but he had no time right now to worry about it.

After a moment, Flynn produced a key from the knight's pocket.

They moved on from the broken down building. They began to round a corner toward the lake, but Repede growled, alerting them to more guards that were heading toward them. They ducked beneath another plant behind a crumbling wall to wait for them to pass.

The two guards chatted as they marched along the thoroughfare and, unaware of the party's presence, stopped only a few feet from their hiding spot.

"So, what do you think they're going to do with that thing?"

"No telling. It's been kept very confidential by the Commandant."

"Well, I'm sure Sir Garista knows what he's doing. He is our top scientist after all."

Yuri held back a breathless growl, and resisted the urge to move off his aching legs. If Garista was involved here too, nothing good would come of this. While praised by the citizens of Zaphias as a genius in the fields of blastia and military strategy, the people of Dahngrest held no such respect for him. After all, it was his machines of war that had razed half of the city. Yuri regretted not ending Garista when he'd had the chance.

Beside him, he could see Rita barely holding back her rage over that name as well.

"I bet it's something like with the Hera-"

"Shh! You fool. We're not supposed to discuss that at all. Even amongst ourselves."

Yuri's interest was piqued, but it seemed as though these blabbermouths were done talking for now. Instead of continuing their march toward the town square, they stopped and moved on to talking about far less interesting things like their families. He tolerated only a moment of this before picking up a rock. He aimed for the bushes behind a nearby house and chucked it as hard as he could. It flew unnoticed through the air and crashed through the bushes, alerting the guards.

"What was that?"

"I don't know. Let's go check it out."

The two knights moved to investigate, giving the party just a moment to leave their hiding spot and get around the corner and into another empty house. This one wasn't much different from the last, save the staircase leading down instead of up. The condition of this house seemed a little better than the other as well. The roof didn't leak and there was less of a mess. Even with the lack of light, Yuri was sure that he spied a trail in the thick dust, boot prints across the concrete floor. The long spiral staircase that led to a basement floor appeared new as well, constructed of metal instead of rotting wood, and from the floor below was a garish yellow light. It didn't match the rest of the technology that they had seen.

He didn't see any guards as he took a few steps down, only a large, round metal door and a control panel beside it. "Hey. I found something."

Rita pushed into him to see what was downstairs and so did Flynn. She squeezed past him, taking the steps nearly two at a time and moved straight to the door and the control panel. She paced in front of it, examining each carefully.

"What is this?" Estelle headed down next, peering over the lighted control panel.

"It's a control for a door."

Karol groaned beside him, hunching his shoulders and clamping an arm over his stomach.

"What's wrong, Karol?"

"I just feel real sick all of a sudden."

He patted the child on the back. "Just hang in there." Yuri didn't want to mention the heaviness suddenly wearing on him also. He knew this feeling from some years ago and had no great pleasure in remembering that sensation.

"I'm not feeling so well either."

"That's the density of the aer. For some reason, it's really concentrated here." Rita didn't seem too affected by it, but she was tough. She fiddled with the controls a moment and sighed angrily.

"What's wrong?"

"It's asking for a password."

He pondered for only a moment. "Try 'Ceazontania'."

Flynn shot him a brief, shocked look that Yuri ignored.

With a few buttons, Rita entered the code and the vault door opened, sending a stream of green bubbles into the room.

"So the excess aer is coming from in here." Yuri pulled the door open a little and peeked through. It was large, rounded room, that dipped down in the middle to a large pit. He stepped onto the circular platform and everyone else followed. Above them, serving as the ceiling of the room was a wall of water held by a glowing ring, perhaps the pond on the ground above them. Rita noticed as much as well.

"It's a reverse barrier. It's being used to keep the water up there and something down here."

"Something as in...?"

An earth shattering roar broke the otherwise silent atmosphere and forced their vision downward.

"That!"

"What is it?"

It was a monster of enormous proportions, dragon-like and craggy in appearance, held by numerous thick, metal chains. Its sharp red eyes looked up at them and its beak-like mouth opened for a shriek. It shook the whole room. Their attention moved back to the barrier above as it sparked and crackled, the glowing fading slightly.

"That's not good!"

"Chill out. I'll fix it-" Before Rita could make it around the platform, the monster pounded its huge front legs against the floor of the pit, shaking the whole room. Repede grabbed her by the back of her tunic as she started to slip.

Yuri had already learned what they had come there to find out. Unless they could interrogate Garista personally, this seemed to be as much information as they would get for now. The fact that the knights were keeping a monster of these proportions was a good start, and that Garista was working on some super secret project. It wasn't much to go on, but he had worked with much less before. He was ready to get out of here before things got worse. But as a crash came through the barrier above, he knew it was too late.

Through the wall of water and glowing barrier came the white armored dragon rider from the mansion at Capua Nor. As soon as the figure pierced the barrier, the water from above began to rain down on them, heavy at first like a downpour, and then softening as the pond above emptied.

"You!" Rita shouted, as her hands prepared to cast a fire ball at the rider.

The dragon rider was too swift and easily dodged as she flung magic. He swooped down to the monster below, lashing out at the chains that held it and snapping them easily.

"Come back here you!" Rita continued to fire even though it proved useless.

As the rider disappeared through the new hole in the ceiling above, the monster crashed through the wall below.

The whole room shook, the platform beneath them threatening to crumble.

"Let's get out of here! Now!" Yuri took it upon himself to start shoving the others toward the open vault door and off of the walkway that was quickly disintegrating beneath their feet. A fall into the pit below could prove lethal, especially if they had to fight a monster like that one. He vaulted through the door behind the others, and with Flynn's help, pulled it shut and sealed it once more.

The earth shook again, harder than before, and shouting followed. It was a series of orders by a commander to the knights outside. Things were looking bad fast.

"I think it's time to go. Now."

Without argument, he rushed the others up the stairs to the main floor and to the front door. If they believed that the place was crawling with knights before, it was worse now. They had all come out of the woodwork, scrambling and shouting to find the dragon rider and recapture the other monster. They watched quietly and waited by the front door of the building for the barest of openings to escape. There were so many knights that he began to think their chances for escape were not very high.

Two more knights passed the door in a full sprint toward the entrance of town and that gave them only a moment before the others could follow. Yuri didn't see any following immediately and took the chance that was given to them. He bolted out the door and across the thoroughfare to the bushes that could lend them cover to get out of town.

"Hurry up!" He knew they were moving as fast as they could. He nearly pushed Estelle, Rita, and Karol into the brush and started to take up the back with Flynn, but it was too late.

"Intruders! Get them!"

"Shit!" He swore internally numerous times more.

Knights rushed at them from both sides of the path, swords drawn and halberds raised, shouting at them to stay were they were and surrender. He liked being against the odds normally, and them versus a few knights would be no problem, but there was more than a brigade worth here. They were dangerously outnumbered. He was reckless, not careless. He didn't like the odds here.

Yuri drew his sword, passing the scabbard off to Karol, and turned toward the growing crowd of knights.

"What-?"

"Karol, take the girls and run. Go straight to Dahngrest and don't look back."

"But, Yuri-"

"I'm serious. There's no time. I'll handle things here." He spun the child around. "I'm relying on you to get them back to Dahngrest safely."

"O-okay! Just be careful!"

"Repede, go with them. You too, Flynn."

Repede whined, but left Yuri's side to move to the head of the group.

"I'm staying."

He wanted to argue with the blond that there were far better times to stop hesitating and take a stand than this one, but he didn't have the time. The knights pressed closer and Yuri spun to confront them, Flynn at his side with his sword ready. Behind them, the other four members of their party dashed away, seemingly unnoticed. He was able to breathe a little sigh of relief and focus on the task at hand. That was not getting captured or killed. They just needed to buy some time.

A blue-white glow from behind the knights worried him, and the word "Lightning!" that followed only proved worse.

The light arced in a flash, striking him. The shock ripped through him, tearing away all his strength and causing his body to seize up. Beside him, Flynn groaned, sword slipping out of his hand as the light overcame him too.

Yuri fought off the darkness as long as he could. He couldn't lose consciousness here. He had to buy Karol and the others a little longer to get away. Even as Flynn hit the ground, smoke emanating from his unconscious form, Yuri tried to remain standing, tried to keep a hold of his sword, tried to resist. Another cry of "Lightning!" hit his ears as the flash engulfed him once more, putting every one of his hairs on end, the magic lightning burrowing deep into his core.

He couldn't hold out any longer. All his control was ripped away from him and he fell face first into the mud.


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Notes: Time for a some back story reveal!

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

He woke with a jolt, his whole body tingling and achy. It took him a moment to get his bearings and remember what had happened to put his body is such a sorry state. He and Yuri had made a stand at the rainy, ruined city of Caer Bocram, and judging from the look of the room around them, they had been captured.

It was hardly a room. It wasn't much larger than a closet, and the cage they were in was even too small to stand in, with the bars that enclosed them telling Flynn that wherever they were, they were prisoners. From a tiny window on the right side of the room, he could hear the grind of metal armor and the tromp of boots along wood. The window offered a little dim light, informing him that it was not raining outside, but not sunny either and it was still daylight. How long had he been out and where was he?

Yuri sat across from him, pressed up against the door, fighting with his hand restraints. The metal shackles clanked against his bodhi blastia bracelet and against the floor when he moved just right. After a moment, he tried kicking the door, but the bars didn't budge, so he cursed and settled back into the corner with a huff and a swear.

"Where are we?"

"Good of you to finally wake up." Yuri's tone was cold with sarcasm. It wasn't his normal joking. He was using it to hide something much more serious. "This is Heliord."

Flynn scooted from his spot against one of the back cell walls over to the window to see whatever he could. Just beyond the window, there were tall, rising stone fortifications and wooden platforms and parapets, knights pacing them endlessly. Beyond the walls, he could see the tops of trees and clouded sky, but little else.

"Why Heliord?"

"It's the nearest Imperial stronghold to Caer Bocram, so a natural choice."

"How long have we been here?"

"Since yesterday. I don't expect to be here much longer."

"What do you mean?"

Yuri remained silent as he stared at the door, as if he didn't like the answer that he would have to give to that question. He may have been a joker and a kidder, but he had proven honest to this point and for him to choose not to answer was a worse sign that him telling a lie. Circumstances must have been dire to illicit this sort of reaction from the man who seemed to be able to take on just about anything.

Flynn rattled his own shackles. They were tight against his wrists, cutting into sore flesh with their razor sharp edges. He winced a little as he moved, shifting on his legs to sit cross-legged on the floor.

The dark haired guildsman moved once more, slowly and quiet to try and hide the sound of his chains rattling as he attempted to reach into his pocket. He strained and twisted and stretched, cutting his own arms further as he did so, swearing. "Damn it, just a little further..."

He stopped abruptly as a pair of footsteps crossed the walkway in front of where they were being held, but no one entered, and he merely groaned again.

"How did you know what the password for the vault would be in Caer Bocram?" Flynn felt like that question was a little sudden, but it had been bothering him since that moment.

"'Ceazontania'? That's were Garista's research got its start."

"It was you there four years ago, wasn't it?"

The guildsman looked at him in surprise that melted after a moment to a cool and cocky smirk. "Ha. You were that rookie knight from the bar that night? Never thought I'd run into you again." He chuckled a little to himself, leaning back into the bars to look at Flynn. "I guess that explains some things."

"Why were you there?"

"Just helping out the local guild. They said that the Knights and the occurrences going on in the forest were getting to be a pain."

Flynn felt satisfied in his suspicions, but dissatisfied with the answer Yuri gave him. If he knew about Garista and his research, than he certainly had more to do there than aid the guild. "How did you get Captain Niren's bodhi blastia?" The question came out in a much more accusatory tone than he had intended, but he didn't amend his statement. It was a bit of an accusation after all. When he last saw the captain after the events at Ceazontania, he still had the bracelet.

"He gave it to me."

"What do you mean, gave it?"

"You know that he left the Knights right after all that went down, right? He told me that he left to wander the world, sick of how Alexei was running things and he stopped in Dahngrest for a bit and we caught up over a few drinks. He gave me this as a keepsake and Repede his pipe."

"Then Repede..."

"Was Lambert's pup." The guildsman's voice softened and Flynn remembered what he had been told about the horror that had befallen the war dog. "Repede decided to come with me after all that."

So, he was the one who had put Lambert out of his misery when he had become part of the aer monster that had ravaged the caravan. Back then, Flynn had regretted going to the capital on the captain's behalf to ask for reinforcements and not being there to aid in the town's defense. That had instead fallen to the remaining knights and the guild members. Even though Yuri was unaffiliated with the Knights and had no ties to the town itself, he had aided their cause and seemed to bear the burden of having killed his partner's sire.

Flynn remembered now, after the realization that Yuri had been there too had hit him. He remembered seeing him interacting in a friendly and almost respectful manner to the captain. They ate dinner together on a few occasions, and on the captain's off duty hours, they could be found at the bar, enjoying a drink. Surely in that time, he had become friends with Lambert as well.

How had he forgotten all of this? He had never paid a second thought to the guildsman who had fought with him in the bar that night after Yuri had started the fight with some of the other guild members over their treatment of a villager. Flynn had been annoyed and in need of a shower afterward, but had put the whole unpleasant affair out of his head until now.

Yuri sighed, and Flynn picked up a stream of words that he seemed to be muttering to himself. "At least Karol and the girls got away."

"What?"

"Oh." He seemed suddenly surprised by Flynn's attention. "I'm so used to talking to Repede. You're just not that great a conversational partner."

He scowled, but Yuri only chuckled.

"Why were you so desperate to get them out of Caer Bocram and stay and fight yourself?"

"If I bought them a little time to get to safety, then it was worth it."

Flynn eyed him quietly. There was still a piece of the story missing.

"You really don't get it?" He sighed, closing his eyes in frustration. "Gods, the war really hasn't effected you lucky bastards in Zaphias at all." What wasn't he telling him?

Footsteps approached once more and they grew silent again. The boots stopped in front of the door, and it swung open. Yuri kept his back to the door and his head lowered a bit. Flynn remained in full view to see who was coming and he didn't like it once he knew.

"Why, if it isn't Flynn Scifo." Cumore sauntered in with two of his knights in tow. "And a traitorous Union mongrel. What an interesting catch from Caer Bocram."

"Captain Cumore, please, you have to hear me out." All Flynn wanted was a chance to explain the situation, but he received only a cackle in response.

Yuri grimaced, his shoulders hunched with a tense sigh. Flynn should have known that a second attempt to explain to the haughty, noble-born captain would be as foolish as the first. He must be siding with Alexei. There was no other real reason for him to blatantly ignore the truth that Flynn was trying to express.

"You're in luck, you stupid upstart. Commandant Alexei has deemed you worthy of a pardon."

"What?"

Even Yuri reacted with the barest bit of surprise, opening his eyes, and looking over to Flynn.

Cumore sneered at him. "You are to be reinstated as a Royal Guard by order of the Commandant. The only condition is that you have to surrender Princess Estellise to us."

His blood boiled in his veins and he struggled to his knees. His knighthood wasn't worth endangering the life of the princess. "What is Alexei planning?! Why does he need Lady Estellise?! What has happened to your ideals, and Alexei's ideals, and Knights of the Imperial honor?!

"I guess you really are just like your idiot father. You will never learn. Little wonder he's dead." He turned as Flynn called out to him enraged by such a comment. "Guards, set the date of execution for these traitors for dawn. We'll let their bodies hang with the others to serve as a warning for anyone else who might try to defy the might of the Empire." He left as easily as he came, and the guards followed.

"What was he talking about?!" Flynn had little problem turning his venom on Yuri.

"Did you know why I wanted to avoid this place to begin with?" The guildsman tilted his head a little to one side and looked at him with eyes that were calm. "This fort is known as Guildsman Gallows."

"What?"

"The bodies of guildsmen hang from the walls outside this fort. Any who are considered traitors of the Empire are executed and strung up as an example."

The adrenaline in his system died down quickly and he realized suddenly why Yuri was so insistent about Karol and the girls getting away. He was protecting that child from all sorts of things even while claiming to be preparing him for the world. He hid the meanings of his scars behind stories of fights, when they were scars of torture, he hid the reason for not going to this city, simply stating that there were too many knights to deal with, when in fact this place was where his kind went to die. Thus far, nearly everything he had done had been for the benefit of Karol, whether or not he would admit it, and he didn't want the bright eyed boy to see the true horror of war and meet his end in such a shameful way.

Flynn couldn't look at him anymore. He was so full of anger and sadness. He felt so betrayed. Was this truly what the Empire he cared so much for was about? What of his own ideals and those of his father and those of Captain Niren? How could they have allowed such a thing as this to happen? Were they only a handful of those who truly believed in the ideals of being a knight, of truth and honor and helping those less fortunate, where all the others had abandoned this for the lust of power and war?

"Quit brooding. Now that he's gone, come over here and get your hand in my pocket."

He snapped out of his thoughts, glancing over quickly with a brow arched in suspicion.

Yuri returned the glance with a glare of seriousness. "Does it sound like I'm flirting with you right now? If you want to get out of here, just do it."

Still wary of whatever the guildsman's intentions could be, he scooted toward his corner of the cell and Yuri slid his way slowly and quietly as well. When Flynn neared, he laid down on one side, facing Flynn.

"Reach into my pocket. It'll be there in the lining."

Flynn sighed and did as he was told, turning away from Yuri so that he could maneuver his hand into the dark haired man's pocket. He had no idea what he was looking for, so his fingers searched blindly for a moment until something sharp and metal pricked him. He struggled for a moment to grab it, jabbing himself numerous times in the process before he was able to get his fingers around it and pull it out. He couldn't see it, but he was pretty sure that it was a lock pick judging from the weight and length.

"Hold on a second." Yuri wiggled toward him a little more, and pressed in close.

Yuri's lips brushed against his fingertips as he grabbed the lock pick and Flynn tried with all his might to ignore that distracting sensation in his spine that he knew was his strange attraction to the man. Yuri fumbled to his knees, his shoulder sliding against Flynn's back as he tried to get his balance. He leaned down and Flynn could hear the metal pick clicking around in the barrel of the shackle's lock, pressing against the tumblers to find the combinations to open them. After a moment and a faint click, Flynn's arm was free and he pulled them around in front of him to remove the shackles.

The guildsman sat up and turned around, allowing Flynn to take the pick from his mouth, and then walked him through the process of picking the lock. It was certainly a learning experience that he had not intended on having.

As soon as Yuri was free of his shackles, he took the lock pick back. It was not in the best shape anymore, bent from having to pick two locks of a high quality with complex tumblers, but if all worked out well, he should have been able to take care of the lock on the cage.

"Where did you get that?" Flynn questioned even though he should have let Yuri work the lock in silence.

He smirked widely. "I nabbed it back in Zaphias, but you never gave me the chance to use it. Good thing."

Flynn wanted to be angry, but instead he was merely grateful. It was fortuitous that it ended up getting saved for such an unforeseen event as this one. But as the tumblers in the cage lock began to turn, a loud snap stopped them cold.

"Fuck." Yuri looked at the bit remaining between his pale fingers. It wouldn't be enough to work with successfully. He sighed and tossed it aside as he slouched against the bars. "There goes that plan. Any ideas?"

"They took everything I had on me." He sagged also.

"Okay. How about this? When they open the cage for meal time, we'll-" He stopped suddenly as footsteps approached once more. It may have been too late to formulate a plan before the cell door was opened and their opportunity lost.

The door opened quietly, and figure slid in closing it behind them. The person turned and Flynn knew the woman in an instant.

"Sodia!"

"Sir, what is going on?" She knelt by the cage, all but ignoring Yuri. "You're wanted and then you're captured in the company of a man from the Union."

"Alexei is mad. He has Master Ioder imprisoned in the castle and is using him like some sort of blastia. I have gone to the Union for Don Whitehorse's aid in saving Master Ioder. Captain Cumore is convinced that I am a traitor to the Empire and he and Alexei are after Lady Estellise." The string of words could not have come out of his mouth faster if he tried.

She stared back at him in disbelief for a moment. "I believe in you, Sir." She pulled a key out of her pocket and opened the cage.

"Sodia..."

"Hurry. Get out of here before the shift change. Head to the west, you can be far out of town before dawn."

He nodded, sliding out and standing for the first time in what felt like a long time. His body was achy and weary. As he turned to motion for Yuri follow, Sodia shut and locked the door, leaving the guildsman inside. "Wait. He has to come with me."

"But Sir, he is-"

Yuri cut her off before Flynn could. He spoke with a calm seriousness, neither harsh nor particularly soft. It was a tone that Flynn hadn't heard before. "Are you sure? I'm a convicted criminal after all. This is where I belong."

Flynn didn't need to think twice. He knew in his heart what was right. "Yuri's coming or you can leave us both here."

The dark haired man looked at him a little surprised, an expression that Sodia matched. She didn't argue further, merely unlocking the door once more to let Yuri out as well. She handed Flynn his pack and sword, and then thrust Yuri's at him. Her movements were sharp and she looked at him with the suspicion that Flynn once had for the guildsman.

"What's going on in the capital? Where is the Council and do you have any word of Master Ioder."

"The Commandant claims that Prince Ioder has fallen ill with Lady Estellise's disappearance, and no one, including the Council has seen him. Alexei has made himself scarce as well, but commands continue to be issued. Most of them come through Lady Khroma."

"Then the capital is safe?"

"Yes. Everything there seems normal."

That gave him a little relief, but it was fleeting as he and Yuri were still tasked with escaping without their captors knowing they were gone. Yuri had been pressed up against the wall, watching carefully out the windows to the city beyond our cell, presumably watching the patterns of the guards.

"Where is Lady Estellise?" Sodia drew his attention back.

Flynn opened his mouth to speak, but Yuri interjected. "She's safe."

She was not pleased with this answer, but Flynn was sure he knew what Yuri was trying to say. If Sodia was caught helping them, she could be interrogated, and then Alexei would pursue them further knowing where Estellise was.

"He's right. Lady Estellise is safe. That's what is important right now." Although being escorted back to the city of Guilds, the Empire's enemy, by a child, a teenage mage, and a dog, he couldn't honestly attest to how safe she really was. He could only hope at this point. With luck, they were already back in Dahngrest. "What is the quickest route for escape from here?"

"Just off the walkway is a covered construction scaffolding. Follow it all the way to the walled edge of the labor camp. Be careful of the perimeter alarm."

"Thank you. Please take ca-"

"Can you hurry up? Long goodbyes are overrated." Yuri shot them a heated glance.

"We'll find some way to stop Alexei. Please believe in me."

"I do. Go. I'll stall as long as possible." Sodia slipped out first and kept watch for a moment. As soon as the coast was clear, she motioned for them to come out.

They had but a brief second out of the sight of the knights to slip across the platform. They crept quick and quiet and she pointed them down to a set of scaffolding braced against the wall of the city fortress. Yuri opened the tarp that covered the top, and dropped down first, and Flynn followed. He glanced up briefly and saw Sodia wave him goodbye before Yuri closed the tarp covering the construction.

"Let's go," he said in the faintest whisper of a breath. He turned and crept along the scaffolding, movements smooth and stealthy, careful to not jostle it as he walked. The slightest movement could betray them.

It was almost a straight shot along the rickety, wooden platforms, angling down to a ladder that dropped inside the labor camp. The other option was to jump and hit the ground, likely alerting the knight from the sheer noise of the force. Either way, they were going to be heard, and Yuri decided for them. He grabbed Flynn by the arm and jumped.

Flynn tucked his legs underneath him, feet flat as he hit the ground, but the impact of hitting unforgiving earth sent tremors through his limbs. He hadn't broken anything, thankfully.

They landed just beyond the walls of the camp, and after a second, it was evident that they had been heard as he expected. Knights rushed to the sides of the upper platform, shouting orders at them, at each other. Those of them on the lower level who had been in the labor camp came toward them, swords and halberds up and ready for a fight.

For a split second, Yuri was transfixed on the upper floor, where numerous cages hung, holding the remnants of the dead. He snapped himself out of it in time to grab Flynn once more and dash into the forest.

They ran for their lives.


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Notes: Another of my favorite chapters as far as writing it and plotting it went.

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

That night, they ran as far and as fast as their legs could carry them in order to put a substantial distance between them and the fortress of death. It was nearly daylight when they stopped, soaked in sweat and ice cold water from where they had forded no less than three bodies of water in order to hide their scent from the war dogs that would surely be following them. They stopped at the edge of the forest, and Yuri's aching legs immediately forced him to the ground rather than allowing him to stand any longer. Flynn wasn't in much better shape, nearly collapsing against a tree, panting.

Both took a few long moments to catch their breaths and let their adrenaline fueled muscles calm.

Yuri stood after a few moments, pulling off his belt and vest, wringing the water out of them. His shirt clung wetly to his every inch of skin, but it kept him cool, so he left it alone. Since their flight from Heliord, he'd had one question burning in his brain: Why had Flynn made Sodia release him also?

He was pretty sure he knew the answer. If Flynn returned to Dahngrest without him, Gramps wouldn't have been too pleased. He could have easily decided that he no longer wanted to aid Flynn and Estelle, or he could have chosen to take the Knight's life in retribution. Yuri and the Don both knew that this was a hazard of Yuri's occupation. He could be found out and executed as the Empire deemed fit. However, in securing Yuri's safety, Flynn had secured his own safety as well. He was probably hoping to add that to the reasons why the Don should trust him. Yuri had seen through it, and Gramps would too.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Flynn was wringing out his own shirt as he shouted, giving Yuri a good glimpse of that tanned figure that he cursed himself for being attracted to.

"What are you talking about?" He tried to remain undistracted by Flynn's lean form, skin dappled with the occasional patch of faint freckles and far less scars than Yuri himself bore.

"'Are you sure?'" He asked in a tone that mocked Yuri's from the question he had posed before Sodia let him out. "Did you think I would just leave you there to die like that? Knowing what they would do to you?"

"It's an occupational hazard."

Those blue eyes burned at him, fire bright and oh how they glittered when Flynn was enraged.

"Beside, you almost did once before."

The flames extinguished and Yuri was a little sad to see them go. "That... this is different than that. Things have changed."

"Oh?" Yuri drew close to him, ready for the fistfight he knew was coming. "What's changed?"

It surprised him when Flynn didn't hit him. The thing that Flynn did do surprised him more than he could tell, but he took it in stride.

* * *

His realization that night in Dahngrest had done little to quench the flames of his thirst now that he knew what was making his mouth so dry, and it did little to help him sleep. He had tossed and turned all that night and the two nights since, trying to convince himself that he was not attracted to Yuri at all, or at the very least, that he shouldn't be. He was a member of the Union, Flynn's enemy, and a criminal. But those labels Flynn had given him were quickly fading away and all that remained was Yuri. Strong, graceful, tough, unstoppable.

The journey to Caer Bocram had only proved to turn his attraction into full blown desire. Desire was a strange thing that Flynn could not recall ever having felt before. He had wanted things before: a good career, to make his father proud, to serve the Empire, but desire was different. It was heavy and sweet with a bitter tone and it made him feel hungry, but not for food. He couldn't decide if he loved the feeling or loathed it. It was a strange mix that he didn't understand. Desire made him do stupid, impetuous things, like grab Yuri and push him up against a tree, kissing him.

He had been longing to for days now, unsure of how to do it, whether or not to act on his urges, was this normal, was it okay to feel this way? He burned for a taste of those lips again and as soon as he got it, he felt lightheaded and the world seemed surreal. He pulled back after only a second, leaving it brief and chaste, but the dark haired man wrapped his arms across Flynn's shoulders, holding him steady with a hand firm against his back.

"Oh. I get it." The guildsman smiled, tilting his head only a few degrees to the left, his eyes dark and mischievous and beautiful. "You want to have sex with me."

He blushed hard, his face fire hot. He fumbled for words to agree, to decline, to explain, to say anything but it was all lost in the jumble of his thoughts. "No! I... I don't know what I want from you." Even as he said that, he leaned in, pressing his weight against Yuri once more. He kissed him again, and then a second time, inexperienced and sloppy, but he didn't care as the sensation was driving him insane. He didn't know what he wanted, but he wanted Yuri Lowell.

Yuri seemed to reciprocate, at least a little, as he didn't fight back, instead allowing Flynn to continue. He tilted his head a little further, opening his mouth, and pressed the tip of his tongue against Flynn's clumsy lips. It took him a moment to respond, to open his own mouth and allow the play of their tongues between them.

The tingling rushed him, threatening to overwhelm him, and he reached up, grabbing a fist full of Yuri's silken black hair. It was much softer than he had imagined.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Yuri pulled back, leaning against the tree.

Flynn pushed in, wanting to continue even if his body had no idea what it was doing, but Yuri stopped him.

"Let's make a deal, then."

"What?" He was impatient and didn't actually care. He felt like he would agree to just about anything for another taste of those lips and to maybe run his hands along the damp fabric of Yuri's shirt, feeling the skin just underneath.

"Give me my freedom and I'm yours."

Flynn did a double take, but Yuri was serious. He felt suddenly ill, his stomach churning. He wanted to say yes, but he knew he couldn't. That would be dereliction of duty, putting his personal wants and desires over what was expected of him as a knight. No one would have to know. After all this was over and Ioder saved and Zaphias retaken, he could simply say the guildsman beat him and escaped. It would be so simple and no one would have to know. But Flynn would know and he knew that if he gave in, he would never be able to forgive himself. He would have betrayed himself and his beliefs, and his father and everything he held dear as a knight for a single tryst with this guildsman. He couldn't. He wouldn't.

On the other hand, he could lie to Yuri, but it was unacceptable for the same reason. It would go against everything he believed in. Yuri was a criminal, and he wouldn't let his desire change the rule of law in his own heart.

Flynn let his arms droop and slowly fall to his sides. As badly as he wanted Yuri, he couldn't.

"I'll let you think on it then." Yuri must have seen the apprehension that Flynn was surely showing. He pulled Flynn into one last kiss, hot and hungry, before pulling back to put his vest and belt back on. "The offer stands for now."

His knees threatened to collapse beneath him. He was frozen in place. He didn't want to move. He wanted to stay there and take the time to sort out in his mind what was right and what was wrong and carefully renew the labels he had on everything that Yuri had called him on. They were slipping away with such incredible speed.

Flynn pulled himself back together after a long moment and pulled his shirt back on. Once collected, they continued on toward Dahngrest, still a day's walk away.

* * *

They rested only once or twice more, never sleeping, before they reached Dahngrest. He was both relieved and agitated.

Karol had been waiting for them to arrive, and rushed Yuri, throwing his arms around him and nearly tackling him on the bridge that led into town. Repede followed, barking happily and wagging his tail. He piled on also, licking Yuri's face happily. "We're so glad you're safe!"

"Hey. No need to be worried. Flynn and I handled those stupid knights with no problem at all." He wouldn't tell him how he had been captured and taken to the place where he surely would have died without the aid of the girl who obviously had some sort of feelings for Flynn. Flynn had to have known that he was lying to protect Karol's innocence at this point, since he didn't speak up. There was no reason a boy of twelve should have to see the horrors of war that Yuri had. He would learn the truth when he was old enough to understand.

After a moment of celebration, Repede moved on to greet Flynn with a bit less jubilation.

"You'll never believe what happened!" Karol didn't give Yuri a chance to even guess. "We were on our way back when we got grabbed by a dragon!"

"What?"

"We stopped for the night, but we got attacked and this brown dragon came and defeated the monsters and brought us back here."

"Wow. Are the girls okay?" He didn't dismiss what the boy told him. Karol might exaggerate sometimes, but over something so serious he wouldn't lie. He was being truthful and Yuri believed him.

"They're fine! They went to talk to the Don because we didn't know when you'd be back. What took you so long?"

"We got sidetracked near Heliord." He had a story ready in case. "We fought a huge monster in the woods there. It was awesome. I wish you could have been there to help out."

"Oh, okay." The boy pouted a moment about missing the chance at the fictitious fight.

"We should probably go meet with the Don also." Flynn spoke up, petting Repede, importance in his tone. No doubt he was worried about Estelle being by herself in what he surely considered to be unsafe territory.

"He's probably in his office having lunch." Yuri brushed himself off, pulling a twig out of his hair and the four of them walked through town toward the Sagittarius. The tavern was lively, packed with people that Yuri had to squeeze between to get to the open door on the right side of the building. Before he even entered, he could hear the Don's thunderous laughter, and a huge hand slapping his equally large knee.

"Well, at least it seems like he's in good spirits." He sighed, knowing that probably meant a few pints of ale with his lunch. Not that the man couldn't hold his liquor. That was something that Yuri hadn't been able to best him at, in spite of their numerous bouts. Don Whitehorse was the hardest fighting, hardest drinking man in the whole world and Yuri respected him for that among everything else.

He entered to find the Don sitting on one of the sofas across from Estelle and Rita, a half eaten feast and a pitcher of ale laid out before them. Estelle and Rita both had tea, and while the mage seemed incredibly uncomfortable, Estelle was in her element. She was talking with the Don about this and that as if he was no different than a noble of Zaphias. She spoke with such friendliness and warmth that it seemed to melt the old man's heart.

"Nice of ya ta finally join us!" The Don noticed them, waving a hand for them to enter and sit down. "What took ya?"

"You know. The usual." Yuri plopped down on the sofa next to him, grabbing a croquette and started to eat. His stomach was growling at him, threatening to eat itself if he didn't put food in it soon. They hadn't stopped to make camp and he had eaten very little since their arrival at Caer Bocram. He grabbed a bowl of soup as soon as he finished, eager to quiet his stomach, and watched out of the corner of his eye as Karol sat down next to him and Flynn sat down with Rita and Estelle.

"Ya got some interestin' lady friends here." He took a swig of his ale before continuing. "Pity ya aren't exactly the marryin' type! I'd love ta see some great grand kids before I've breathed my last."

Yuri rolled with it. He was teased pretty regularly for his taste in company and he didn't mind. "If I had kids, they'd all be horrid little monsters like I was."

The old man got a hearty laugh out of that. He calmed after a moment. "But onta more serious matters. These young ladies say ya witnessed a huge monster being kept in Caer Bocram."

"That's right. He was as big as the Lord of the Plains. It looks like the Knights were using a reverse barrier to keep him in there. We overheard a conversation where a very interesting name came up."

"That so?" The Don cocked his head to one side, clasping his chin in one hand. "Name wouldnta been 'Garista Luodor', would it?"

"The same."

Rita let out a growl that startled even the Don a little, slamming down her teacup. "That jerk! I know he's up to no good!"

"What do you mean, Rita?" Estelle asked

"A few years ago, he stole some of my blastia cores and turned them into weapons. The barrier blastia at Ehmead Hill was one of my stolen cores placed in another blastia that he'd adjusted with a series of weird formulas. And the blastia we found at Ragou's mansion, too. He's manipulating blastia in ways that shouldn't work and for reasons he shouldn't be!"

"It is widely known that he is a proponent for the use of blastia powered weapons, as well as being the man who pioneered much of the technology we have today. Much of his current research is strictly confidential, although I have no idea what he would be doing with a monster of such proportions." Flynn added."He is one of Alexei's top researchers, and it's not too far to assume that he, or at least his research, could be behind what's happening in the palace." Flynn's father could have died during a test run against a monster that was attacking Zaphias years ago during the war. He had survived because he had been promoted not long before the incident, and Garista had been praised for his new weapon's abilities.

"So you think it might be his research that's allowing Alexei to use Ioder as a blastia?"

Flynn sighed a little and looked down. It was obvious that his brief and tumultuous journey had shaken his faith in the government he had given his life to serve. "I can't say for certain, but it is definitely a possibility."

"That's pretty interestin'." Don Whitehorse stood, and moved behind his desk, briefly shifting through some papers there. He picked a piece up, reading it for a moment before lifting his head to them. "Ya've done yer part. I need to confer with the other members of the Union and reach a consensus. Get some rest and we'll get back to ya when we've reached a verdict."

"Thank you for your kind consideration." Estelle stood, and Rita followed her out. Flynn, Repede, and Karol left next, chatting about getting a meal in.

Yuri hung back for a moment, waiting for them to leave. After they had gone, Yuri moved behind the desk as well, leaning against one edge while staring at the tapestry of Altosk's emblem on the back wall. "What about Barbos?"

"I've reached the limit of my patience with him."

"Just say the word."

"Get some rest. Ya've done enough."

"I'll be waiting." He slipped out of the Don's office, shutting the door before joining the others at a table nearby where Flynn and Karol were enjoying lunch. He ordered a parfait, but his stomach was no longer screaming at him to eat. His hunger was placed elsewhere. His brief make out session with the uptight blond knight had left him wanting more, and he wondered if Flynn was as hungry as he was, how long he would hold out. Yuri's offer still stood between them like a carrot in front of a rabbit and he waited for Flynn to take the bait. How long would his morals hold out if he desired Yuri as much as he had made clear? How long would his knightly virtues keep him from temptation? If not Flynn, there were other suitable partners who would gladly satisfy his hunger for flesh.

"What happened in Caer Bocram? It took you both a long time to get back."

"We had to fight a big monster on the way back. He was pretty tough." Yuri didn't hesitate from digging into his parfait as soon as it arrived, finishing it in only a few bites.

Again, Flynn didn't argue. It would have looked suspicious.

"What's this I heard about a dragon?"

Estelle perked up. "Oh! I guess Karol told you. It was so strange. We were fighting some monsters and suddenly this brown and white dragon lands in front of us and blew the monsters away with a mighty breath. It beckoned us onto its back and flew us here. It was really very strange, though."

"What was?"

"I'm certain that I heard it talk. It sounded... human."

"Well that's weird." He stood, letting the chair skid across the floor behind him. "So how about that tour of Dahngrest I promised you? Karol can take the lead. He knows a lot about the city."

"Really, Yuri?! Awesome!" The boy skipped on ahead, nearly leaving them behind.

"That sounds wonderful."

"Whatever."


	18. Chapter 18

Author's Notes: Oh yeah, there's an 'M' rating on this fic for a reason. :D

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

Throughout the whole tour of the city, Flynn tried not to stare at Yuri. It was much more difficult than it had been before, now that with every moment he thought of those few moments in the woods after their escape from Heliord. Those lips and eyes and hair called to him and caused him to fall behind a little as Karol led them through town, pointing out landmarks like the inn, shops, the library, and his own home.

It was dusk when they arrived back at the Sagittarius. Yuri cooked them all a simple dinner that Raven showed up for just in time to eat. Afterward, Estellise and Rita did the dishes and then excused themselves to go to the library for some reading up. Estellise wanted to see if she could find any information on the dragon she had told them about earlier, and Rita followed along with little argument.

Flynn felt so strangely out of place as he sat on the couch while Raven and Karol chatted. He was acutely aware that Yuri was no longer in the room, and for some reason felt a mix of relief and agitation over the fact.

"Well, good night, guys." Yuri drifted through the room and to the front door, looking back at them briefly. He was freshly showered, his hair dripping all over the floor as he walked and he was dressed in his normal outfit, just a clean set. Something was different. "Need me to walk you home, Karol?"

"I'll make sure the kid gets home safe." Raven draped one arm over Karol's shoulder and waved at Yuri with the other. "Have fun."

The dark haired man smirked and opened the door. "Make sure Flynn doesn't make a mess while I'm gone, Repede."

The dog barked behind him and Yuri left before Flynn could question him.

"Where's he going?" He posed the question to Karol and Raven.

"He's going to see one of his shiny friends."

"What do you mean?"

Raven patted Karol, pushing him off the couch. "Go ahead and head down. I'll join you in a minute."

"Okay, Raven!" Karol trotted to the door and called "Good night, Flynn!" as he tromped down the stairs.

"Where is he really going?"

Raven smiled, thin and fox-like and looked down at Flynn with half-lidded, ice blue eyes. "Kid's too young ta understand, but he's off ta toss the sheets with one a 'those' friends. He'll be back in the morning. Always is."

Flynn's fingers dug into the arm of the couch, nails nearly ripping through the threadbare fabric as a strange rage filled his body. "Where is he going?"

"Usually meets them at the inn."

He was off the couch before Raven even left. They didn't have time for this, even if they were waiting on the Don's verdict. He convinced himself that that was surely the reason he felt so angry and bothered and hot all of a sudden and it wasn't jealousy at all. He had no reason to be jealous. That moment in the woods had been nothing for either of them. It had been a case of mutual attraction that Yuri was trying to bend to his own devices and Flynn wasn't falling for.

Flynn had never wanted something so badly in his entire life. He had never cared about having his affections and touches and biting frustrations returned. He had never wanted anyone, or anything, like he wanted Yuri Lowell.

It took everything that he had, every shred of will to resist grabbing the man and making his desires and intentions very painfully clear. He had to remind himself that they might be cooperating, but Yuri was from Dahngrest. He worked for Altosk. He was the grandson of the Don, leader of the Union. And he was the enemy. But late at night, when he lay awake thinking about what it would be like to run his fingers through that dark hair and trace each scar that marred that pale skin and hear that voice call out in pleasure, he forgot all that. At night, they were just two people, their bonds and burdens forgotten. He was Flynn and the object of his desire was Yuri. One thing was certain. Yuri had ignited something in Flynn like he had never known.

Yuri teased, but he made it clear that he was not terribly interested unless it involved a little quid pro quo on Flynn's part. He wanted freedom, and was willing to do what he needed to get it, but he didn't long for the Flynn the way he was longed after. Maybe he could convince Yuri to do the deed with him, but he knew that it wouldn't be the same unless Yuri wanted him too.

Why was he so frustrating?!

He remembered where the inn was from their tour earlier that day and stormed through the door. He scanned the front desk quickly, but Yuri wasn't there. Was he too late?

Flynn moved on after a moment, slipping past a few patrons, behind the stairs to check the hall on the first floor. He nearly ran down the hallway, but the door to each room was open and the rooms themselves empty. He doubled back, sprinting up the stairs to check the second floor hall.

There, pressed against the wall of the hallway was Yuri, limbs tangled around a tall blond. Their tongues fought in an intricate dance between their mouths, and a small gasp escaped from Yuri when the man pressed against him harder, pulling on his hair.

Flynn wanted to be there. He wanted to be the one with his lips against Yuri's, his hands tangled in the dark curtain of Yuri's hair. He wanted to be the one pinning him against the wall, so closely that their two bodies could hardly be separated. He wanted the rush of blood and heat and adrenaline that was akin to battle and yet so different, so sweet and heady that just the idea of it made him lightheaded once more.

"Flynn, what the hell?!" Yuri grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pushing him backwards. How long had he been there staring?

He was stunned and silent, and apparently the other man was as well.

Yuri was visibly upset, although Flynn shouldn't have been as surprised by that as he was. The man said something to Yuri that Flynn didn't catch, and turned and left. Yuri called out to him once, cursing Flynn, and then shoved him up against the wall.

"What the hell is your problem?"

"I... I just..." He wanted everything to just come gushing out of him, but instead he grabbed Yuri's face in his hands and kissed him. He didn't think about the taste that the other man had left in Yuri's mouth that he knew wasn't what he remembered.

"So, you made your choice?" Yuri pulled back, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

"I can't. I can't promise you something that I can't give for something that I want."

Rather than the anger he had expected, the dark haired man kissed him hungrily, pulling back to breathe and then again. "Since you're so honest, I guess I'll give you a reward." His hand moved deftly to the waist band of Flynn's pants, unlatching his belt with a click. Yuri lingered for a second, teasing him with hot, messy kisses on his lips and down his neck.

Flynn gasped as Yuri's hand slipped between his flesh and the fabric of his pants and those long, pale fingers curled around his cock. He was hard in an instant.

He moaned a little, biting his lip to keep from making too much noise. His eyes rolled back into his head as the simple, powerful touches, the feeling of those fingers threatened to drown out all of his thoughts. He tried not to thrust against Yuri's hand as it moved, the fingers of his own hands digging into the the wood of the hallway wall. He tried to focus, to not lose himself in pleasure. He didn't even care that someone could easily come up the stairs and see them. He didn't care about anything else but this moment of pleasure and how he wanted to return the favor. Flynn never knew being touched by another human being was so amazing.

The burning kisses continued, and the rhythm of things was beginning to take over. The tension in his spine was building and he knew that his climax was close. His moans had grown louder as much as he tried to keep his voice down. Yuri leaned in, pressing all his weight against him, squeezing tightly with his hand and nibbling on the lobe of his ear.

His hand stopped abruptly and he whispered, "I'm the enemy, remember?"

A cold guilt fell heavily in his stomach and the pleasure that he was feeling slipped away as Yuri pulled away, leaving him incomplete. The dark haired man turned and strode down the hall, disappearing down the stairs.

Flynn's mouth was so dry and he felt even more hollow and filled with anger as he collected himself and managed to walk back to Yuri's apartment. His clothing felt so tight and unnatural and he tore it off as soon as he got there. He found a shower room adjoining Yuri's bedroom and cranked the water on as cold as it would go. It didn't help.

When that proved useless, he took matters into his own hands, leaning back into the icy cold tile wall. He pretended it was Yuri around him, his hand or his mouth or for god's sake anything. He thought about them kissing again and the heat coming off of Yuri's pale skin and his hair brushing against bits of Flynn's skin as he moved. He imagined what Yuri's moans would be like to drown out his own that the shower wasn't keeping him from hearing. Even with his climax, he was still so angry.

His energy drained out of him and he pulled himself out of the shower. He managed to pull his clothing back on, but it still made him feel so incredibly trapped.

He was too tired to move to the couch to sleep, and instead collapsed on Yuri's unmade bed. He rolled restlessly in the sheets, pulling them to his nose and breathing deep the scent of the man that he desired so much and couldn't have. It was sweet and spicy, earthy and ethereal and it did little to clear the muddle in his head. He didn't care. He just wanted to sleep.

* * *

He took a deep sigh of relief as the stress left his bruised and bite marked body. The contact that he had found was enough to satisfy his hunger for now, although given a little time, it would return. Perhaps another round of passion would stave it off a little longer this time. He rolled over and straddled the blond man, who wasted no time in leaving more hungry bite marks down his neck and over his collarbone.

"Already ready to go again?"

"Give me a few minutes and I will be."

Yuri opened his legs a little wider, closing the gap between them. This was good. It wasn't like he was still thinking about that stupid knight who followed him like a puppy only to tell him that he couldn't give Yuri want he wanted. He had played a dirty trick on poor Flynn and probably left him angry, but Yuri didn't really mind. That would probably keep the attractive blond away from him for a while. He didn't need to be having a physical relationship with an Imperial Knight, especially when said knight was a virgin of incredulous proportions.

He wrapped his arms around his current partner, gasping as the man's fingernails raked down his back.

"What was that?"

Yuri hadn't heard the noise he was talking about, but after a second, it came again. It was the tink of a pebble on the glass window. He sighed. He knew what that sound meant.

"I hate to cut things short, but it looks like I'm needed." He stood, relishing the bit of warmth remaining on his skin, but hating that it had to end. He pulled on his clothing that littered the floor.

"Wouldn't be that idiot from earlier, would it?" The blond leaned back against the headboard of the bed.

Yuri chuckled. "No. It's more important than that."

"Can I see you again soon?"

"I'm not sure when I'll be back." Even if he returned to Dahngrest soon, he didn't like the idea of getting too close to any one of his multiple partners. He didn't want them becoming attached to him when he had no romantic interest in them at all, and to his advantage, they didn't seem to have much of a romantic interest in him either. These were relationships built on mutual physical attraction and little else.

He left without another word and moved out of the quiet inn to the street outside. Raven was standing there with a handful of pebbles, ready to continue his tiny assault on the window if Yuri hadn't come out after a few moments.

"There ya are." He tossed the pebbles over one shoulder and smiled crookedly. "Sorry ta interrupt yer fun."

"It's fine. I suppose Gramps wants to see me."

"That's right."

Yuri followed Raven to the Sagittarius and into the Don's office with the quiet of the city night all around them. He had made this walk many times before, knowing each time what the Don would say and what would be expected of him. Raven left them alone in the office, shutting the door behind him and standing watch outside the way he always did. Don Whitehorse was seated behind his desk, watching Yuri as he moved to stand in front of him.

"Barbos of the Blood Alliance is out of control. As a member of the Union, his actions are inexcusable."

"What is your ruling?"

"Enforce the laws of the Union. Those who break the laws of the Union must be punished." It pained him every time he said those necessary words.

"As you wish."

"You're stuck with a job no one much wants."

Yuri turned, his fingers tightening on the cord that held the scabbard of his sword. "Someone's got to do it. And I owe you this much."

"Take care of yerself."

"I'll be back."

He left the city of Dahngrest and didn't look back. If he moved swiftly, he could be to the dark tower that loomed in the distance before dawn. As he strode across the plains and into the desert, he fixed his eyes on the brightest star in the night sky. "Looks like it's just you and me."


	19. Chapter 19

"Hey, Flynn! Flynn!"

He stirred a little, curling further into the bedsheets. He wasn't ready to get up yet, and all the loud crashing and shouting from the world of his dreams wasn't about to change that. It was inevitable as Karol reached across the bed and shook him hard.

"Flynn, wake up!"

He finally rolled to sit up, looking at the boy, rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong, Karol?"

"Why are you sleeping in Yuri's bed?" The boy tilted his head innocently and Flynn was glad that he had remembered to get dressed again after his shower of release and frustration the night before.

"Well, I-"

"Never mind! Yuri's been missing all morning and the barrier blastia core was stolen! He's probably on the trail of the thief."

"Actually, the boy's off doin' somethin' for the Don. He'll be back later." Raven slid in and briefly eyed Flynn, probably suspecting much more than what had actually happened. He didn't say anything about it either way. "But the core of our barrier blastia is indeed missin'."

Flynn was out of bed in a flash, throwing on his sword belt and boots, paying no mind to the sleep roughened state of his clothing and hair. A glance out of the window provided the source of all the noise. Monsters were filling the city streets, driven back by the imposing form of Don Whitehorse and other guild members. They rushed out to join them and found Rita flinging fireballs into the horde and Estellise tending to the injured and doing her fair share of fighting in between.

He pushed himself into the fray and felt oddly at home. His tension and worries melted away and he could focus on something other than Yuri for the first time in days. He swung, felling one monster after another. He tried to stay fluid while maintaining his defense like Yuri had suggested, and found that moving came a little easier. He was able to keep his focus all around himself instead of just on the enemy in front. It was a fight at first to not stay in one place for too long. Yuri had issued an ominous warning about fighting against Zagi and Flynn knew that he would have to battle the madman again, but he would be ready.

Repede sounded out in a howl, and dove into the swarm of monsters, knife clenched between his sharp teeth.

Flynn was immediately left to wonder what sort of mission Yuri was on that would have caused him to leave Repede behind. The partners were nearly inseparable. What would have prompted the sudden separation?

"Run these monsters outta town, lads!" The Don called out over the din and a stampede followed his order, guildsmen and women armed with whatever they had, chasing the horde of monsters toward the exits of town.

As soon as they were free from the fight, Estellise rushed to his side, healing him of the few cuts and bruises that were forming across his body. "I've heard the barrier blastia core was stolen."

"That's what Karol and Raven said as well. It would definitely explain all of the monsters."

"I wonder if it's the blastia thief that Yuri was looking for in Zaphias." She watched as Karol and Rita joined them, and Raven and Repede came back from battle a few seconds later. "I want to find the person responsible for this and recover the barrier blastia core."

Repede growled a bit, pointing his gaze toward the northeast.

"I think the pooch has the trail of our thief."

"Let's go then." She seemed excited and determined. He wanted to argue, to tell her that there was no time, but he knew it was the proper thing to do. No city, even one that was an enemy of the Empire, deserved to be without a barrier to protect it from the ever lurking threat of monsters. Perhaps this would be her repayment to Yuri for his helping them.

So they set off behind Repede, who tracked the invisible scent through the town and out of the safety of the city. To the northeast, looming in the distance of the desert was a dark tower, standing stark black against the blue sky.

"What is this place?"

"I'm not really sure," Karol said, checking his map. "It's not marked on any map I've ever seen, but it's been there as long as I can remember."

"It's called Ghasfarost, or the Tower of Gears." Raven leaned back, entwining his fingers behind his head. "It's the stronghold of the Blood Alliance, one of the five master guilds of the Union. And I can tell you, Barbos isn't going to be too happy to see us."

"Why would the thief's scent lead us here?"

The scruffy old man didn't answer. Flynn could guess as much. If corruption was possible within the Empire, why not within the Union? It wasn't far from belief.

Something in Flynn's stomach made him feel uneasy. He thought briefly that it could have been the breakfast that he had missed, but this was different than a simple skipped meal. This was worrisome and heavy, nibbling away at his insides like something was wrong, but he couldn't place just what. A fleeting thought took him back to were Yuri might have been at this moment, on a mission for the Don, but he turned back to the looming tower. They had a task at hand and, as helpful as Yuri had proven himself previously, he wasn't here to help this time.

* * *

Another day, another jail cell. He didn't fight back after they apprehended him at the front gates. It would be easier to infiltrate from the inside anyway and luckily, those who had taken him into custody weren't the brightest bunch. He could say that about most mercenaries, though. Either way, they hadn't recognized him, and only caught him snooping. His true intentions there remained a secret, and he only had to wait for the right time to escape. As he heard the guards approaching, he prepared. That time could be now.

But the cell door swung open, and before he had time to react, a figure in white, angular armor, struggling with the guards, was thrown in. He recognized that strange armor as the same as the set worn by the dragon rider who had shown up and destroyed the blastia at two different locations.

Even after being thrown in, the figure charged the door just as the guards were closing it, shoulder down to barrel through. This person was fast, even when wearing the bulky armor, but the door was slammed in his face, sending him backward against the stone floor once more. The figure slammed his fist into the metal door, leaving a dent, but the door stood steady.

"What are you in for?"

The figure turned to him, and for the first time, he could see a crimson eye staring at him through a crack in the metal. After a moment of silent hesitation, the person removed the peaked helmet, releasing a pair of long, blue feathered antenna, and a familiar feminine face framed with lavender hair.

"Fancy seeing you here, Yuri." The Krityan woman smiled, and wasted no time removing the rest of the armor.

"Judy?" He was more surprised than he showed. He had known Judy—or really Judith, but he found this name too long to bother with—for a little over a year now. Between drinking and bar brawls, they found common ground, and he believed her to be a globe trotting researcher who found herself in Dahngrest for a drink and a game of cards every few weeks. She was a skilled fighter by all that he had ever known, and one of the few people who could return anything in a fight that he could dish out. But if she was the dragon rider, which he didn't doubt after seeing her in that armor, this changed things pretty substantially.

"Surprise." Judith pulled off the heavy chest plate and tossed it into a corner and seemed relieved for it. She wore the outfit he always saw her in, white and blue form fitting clothing with gold trim, revealing by most standards. "I suppose I have some explaining to do."

"Well, it's no secret now that you're the dragon rider destroying the blastia. Why?"

"I won't deny that. I destroyed the blastias at Ehmead Hill, Capua Nor, and Caer Bocram, but I'm afraid that I can't tell you why. Only that it is my mission."

"What are you doing here?"

"My partner and I found out that there was another one here that I have to destroy. Unfortunately, we were shot down."

"Your partner? That dragon?"

"Yes. His name is Ba'ul. We have a relationship much like yours with Repede."

He nodded. This whole thing didn't seem to be making a lot of sense just yet, but he knew that she was a bad liar and that she could be trusted, at least for now.

"And what are you doing here?"

"I'm on a mission also." If he left it at that, surely she would understand that it was something he couldn't tell her, and she nodded in acceptance. "I'm ready to get out of here if you are."

"What's the plan?"

He was without a lock pick this time. They would have to get the guards to open the door, but that would be no small task. When the idea came to him, though, he knew that it would work. "I've got an idea."

"Okay."

Yuri curled his left hand into a fist and punched her. She spun, a little surprised, but once she realized a second later what was happening, she recoiled, and struck back swiftly. It didn't take long for this to dissolve into one of their numerous bar brawls, complete with kicking, shouting, and hair pulling. She was tough and he admired that about her. She returned blow for blow with no hesitation and no problem.

"What's all that racket?!"

Just as he had planned, a pair of guards came racing to the cell door, and he turned briefly and winked at Judith, who punched him one last time for good measure. The door opened as her fist made contact with his cheek and the guards entered, and he let his footing slip. He very purposefully hit the ground.

"Get this psycho away from me!"

"I've had enough of you!" She approached swiftly, fist pulled back like she was ready for another assault, and the guards came in behind her.

"Cut it out, both of you!"

Instead of punching him again, Judith opened her fist at the last moment, and pulled Yuri to his feet. She gave him just enough of an opening to her left for him to throw a punch and hit the approaching guard in the nose. He flew a few feet and hit the opposite stone wall before crumpling to the floor. The second guard rushed them, spear at the ready, but their synchronized movements were already planned. Judith hopped up and did a handstand on his shoulders. With a quick back flip, she landed on the guard's shoulders and, using her knees, snapped the man's neck.

"Well, shall we be off?" She high fived him and then brushed off her gloved hands as if the skirmish had been a mere inconvenience to her. Had he been sexually interested in women, he was pretty sure Judy would be his type.

She took the spear from the guard she had ended, examining it carefully. "This'll do. So, where are your friends?"

"This is something I had to do alone."

"I see."

Yuri grabbed the sword from the fallen mercenary to use temporarily. It was heavy and awkward in his hands, but he would have to make do until he located his own equipment. He searched the man further and found a set of keys. He moved out of the cell, and she followed him into the main foyer. He knew that they were in the basement, and he remembered much of the march down here. The idiots that worked here thought so little of him that they hadn't thought he would memorize the route. But he had.

"I need to get to the roof."

"Funny." He smirked, peeking into one of the nearby store rooms. "Me, too."

"Why don't we stick together for now then?"

"Sounds like a plan." He knew their objectives weren't the same, but were probably close enough. Somehow, he always felt that she could see right through him and now had an inkling about what his purpose was there.

They moved quietly into the store room, where Yuri found his proper equipment in a nearby chest. Judith was not so lucky, so she merely traded her temporary weapon for one of a better quality. Once back in the main floor, they headed up a set of metal stairs to the platforms above. All around them, gears of all sizes whirred and ground. As they came off the stairs, he could see a huge glass tube, filled with green aer that moved in swirling clouds as it was pumped upward toward the roof and their objectives.

"All this aer..."

"It's probably being sucked out of the earth to power the blastia you're here for. But what kind of blastia needs this much?"

"This is only enough to get it started. It will require much more for long term powering." Judith pulled her hand back from the warm glass tube and looked upward, her crimson eyes following the trail of aer. His question remained unanswered and he didn't bother to ask it again. She had avoided it on purpose and he allowed her that.

Yuri lead the way up another flight of stairs. There was a set of guards that they dispatched easily but it was a lot less heavily guarded than he expected of Barbos. The glass tube ran through the center of the room, from the floor below all the way up, and more than once, he caught Judith staring at the whirls of aer within. Even though she wouldn't say it, it was obvious that the sight of it seemed to worry her. He had more questions about why she was targeting blastia, but chose to let her keep her mission to herself. After all, he had to keep his to himself, too.

"How much further is it?" She asked, examining what looked like a control panel near the tube.

"Another floor up before we reach the main gate. After that, I'm not sure. This tower is pretty tall."

"I see."

"So, what happened to your partner?"

"When we tried to destroy the blastia earlier, he got injured in the firefight that followed. He retreated to allow his wounds to heal and I chose to continue on with the mission. At this point, he has done all he can. It is my responsibility from here."

He nodded mutely, unsure of what else to say. He had been a little curious, but was mostly making conversation to while away the quiet that the sound of the mechanics of the tower didn't drown out. He was glad however that her partner was okay, if indeed they did share a relationship much like his and Repede's. He and the warrior dog had been nearly inseparable in the four years since the events at Ceazontania.

Thinking about that place brought his thoughts back to Flynn. He thought a prudish blond like that would have been someone that he would have remembered without fail from that particular time, but that had been a time when a lot else had been going on in his life.

A series of crashes and shouts from the floor above broke his train of thought. He rounded a corner, peeking through the wall of gears. A mercenary flew by their position, clattering down the steps in a heap of armor. They moved quietly to the next floor, encountering no other guards until they found an open doorway that led to the stone walkway outside. The way to the top couldn't be much further. He did recall seeing a set of ladders that led up to the uppermost platform on the front of the tower and was grateful for his observational skills.

Guards swarmed the archway, but their attention wasn't on Yuri and Judith. He took advantage of this and cut through their sloppy ranks from behind. The doorway clear, he started to exit when a crackling whoosh caused him to pull back at the last second and he stopped just short of getting hit with a fireball.

"Yuri!" Karol called out from across the stone walkway as he knocked a mercenary over the railing with his massive sword. Flynn and the others were finishing off the last of the other guards and Yuri was overcome by a moment of internal panic.

What were they doing here? What was /Karol/ doing here? Everything was in jeopardy now. His mission, his secrets, everything. Had it been he and Judith alone and he had gone through with his mission, there probably wouldn't have been a problem. But this, this was a big problem. His brain scrambled for solutions, answers, anything. How was he going to complete his mission and still save face? Everything had changed suddenly and things were looking bad faster than he could think. For all the things he'd planned for, the arrival of the rest of the party was not one of them.

"We didn't know you'd be here."

"Yeah, well I-"

"You were chasing the thief who look the barrier blastia core, right?" Karol was bright eyed and hopeful that his hero, Yuri, had been in pursuit of the culprit long before anyone else.

That was news to Yuri, but he played it cool. "Of course." He had suspected that Barbos was connected to the blastia thief since the incident in Nor Harbor, but this confirmed his suspicions. The others must have followed Repede here, tracking the scent of the thief, and if Barbos had the barrier blastia core from Dahngrest, things were worse than he had suspected.

"Why did you come alone?" Flynn had to have caught on that something was strange, or he was still mad about the night before. Or both. Either way, it was no secret that he was mad.

Judith thankfully interjected. "I know I've met you, Flynn, but I don't believe I got to meet the rest of you last time. My name is Judith. I'm a friend of Yuri's."

"So you use a spear, too." Rita moved in to examine Judith and her choice of weapon closely, tapping her chin.

"Do you know someone else who does?" It was a common weapon.

"Yeah. Some dragon riding freak that is aching for a clobbering. Seen anyone like that around?"

The Krityan smiled pleasantly, folding her hands behind her back. "I'm afraid not."

"I'm Estelle and this is Rita." The princess took to introducing them both when Rita moved on to what she would have deemed more interesting things. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Judith."

"Hey there, beautiful. The name's Ra-"

"We've already met, Raven."

He sighed in disappointment.

"So what were you doing here anyway?" The mage turned back.

"She got captured while on a research trip." Yuri saved her this time.

"Well, the Kritya do love their research."

Judith shot him a smile as thanks, before changing the topic of conversation. "What's this about a blastia thief?"

"Dahngrest's barrier blastia core was stolen this morning."

"But why did you all come here?" Yuri rocked back on one heel. The tone that he took was perhaps more stern than he intended and Karol and Estelle both dropped their heads a little.

Estelle fumbled for a moment and then straightened herself up. "I wanted to do the right thing and capture the blastia thief. And also to thank you for all you've done. I thought that together we'd have a better chance of catching the person who committed this heinous act and endangered the lives of the people of Dahngrest."

"Why do you care? Dahngrest is the enemy of the Empire."

Flynn moved forward to start complaining about Yuri's tone, but Estelle stopped him.

"We may be at war, but the people of the city of Dahngrest deserve as much as anyone else the protection that comes with the barrier. I won't sit by when people are suffering, no matter what side they're on."

A smile tugged at this lips but he turned before she could see it. "We should keep moving. I don't feel like getting on the bad side of more of these goons." He shot a glance at Raven, who shrugged from the back of the party. The old man knew why he was here and had still let the others come, endangering his mission. It may not have been as cut and dry as that, but either way he had no time to worry now. He had to focus on Barbos and how he was going to complete his mission.


End file.
